To understand the effects of diffuse pollution information on the source of pollutants, quantities in transport, mode of transport, transient nature of the pollution event, and most importantly, a consideration of remediation efforts need to be known. For example, water quality research in the Yazoo Basin uplands in Mississippi has shown sediment loads from a conventional-till upland soybean watershed to be about 19,000kg/ha/yr, and responsible for 77-96% of P and N in transport. In contrast, sediment loads from a comparable no-till soybean watershed were only 500kg/ha/yr, transporting about 31% of P and N in transport. Sediment loads from a nearby forested area were low, about 200kg/ha/yr, but responsible for about 47-76% of P and N in transport. Transient pollution events are responsible for the transport of large quantities of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides; in some storm events nearly the annual load. Best management practices (BMPs) must be designed to remediate diffuse pollution and the transient nature of pollution events which can have a profound effect on the ecological health of steams and reservoirs. Copyright ?? 2001 .