National Water Quality Month is dedicated to making the most of the relatively small amount of fresh water we have, because having clean water is vital to our individual health, our collective agricultural needs, and the needs of our environment.

There are easily thousands of factors that can have a negative impact on the quality of your local water sources ranging from industrial pollutants like metal particulate, oils, and other chemicals to the pesticides we use in our own backyards.

Fortunately for us, there is still time and plenty of ways to keep our waters clean, all of which start with being mindful of the possible effects our activities might have our environment.