On the morning of August 14, Dr. Jun Zhu from University of Arkansas delivered an online lecture entitled “The US Experiences in Dealing with Non-Point Source Pollution to Rivers and Lakes”. Dr. Jun Zhu’s research direction mainly includes waste treatment technologies for protecting air and water quality related to animal production, renewable energy production technologies, bioconversion of wastes into value-added products. The event was host by Dr. Zhiying Han.

In the lecture, Dr. Jun Zhu introduced the sources and technologies in preventing and controlling nonpoint source pollution in the United States. The sources identified generally include precipitation, land runoff, infiltration, drainage, seepage, hydrologic modification, and/or atmospheric deposition. It is recognized that nonpoint source pollutants that cause the greatest impacts on sediments, nutrients, toxic compounds, organic matter, and pathogens. In response to these sources and pollutants, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a range of guidelines and technologies to palliate the effect of non-point source pollution on water bodies such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, coastal waters, and ground water. Authorized by the US Congress, EPA in 1987 established Section 319 in the Clean Water Act, which provides financial resources to state governments to fight non-point source pollution, a host of different technologies have been developed and implemented. The effectiveness of many such technologies in controlling non-point source pollution is also discussed.

In the interactive session, Dr. Jun Zhu responded the questions and thoughts of faculty and students.