Beginning in the early 1970s computer models were developed to analyze the transport of runoff carrying water pollutants, which considered dissolution rates of various chemicals, infiltration into soils and ultimate pollutant load delivered to receiving waters. One of the earliest models addressing chemical dissolution in runoff and resulting transport was developed in the early 1970s by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The study of how pollutants move through runoff water has been greatly advanced by computer simulations developed in the early 1970s, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency playing a leading role in this advancement. These models consider factors like chemical dissolution rates and soil infiltration to predict pollutant load delivered to receiving waters.