If water pollution comes from a single source such as a factory’s waste or oil spills it is called point-source pollution. If it comes from many sources, it is called nonpoint-source pollution.
Most types of water pollution only affect the immediate area but sometimes the pollution can travel hundreds or thousands of miles and then it is called transboundary pollution.
These different types of water pollution come from varied sources: surface water, groundwater, microbiological, oxygen depletion, nutrient, suspended matter, and chemical.