QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are homeless camps a major source of urban water pollution?

The City of Columbia has been in talks for months with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources over the renewal of a permit that allows it to discharge stormwater.

In any urban environment, stormwater will be polluted with organic and inorganic chemicals from a variety of sources. But some state officials have zeroed in on one cause -- homeless camps.

Now the city council is considering an ordinance to ban waste from camps and other outdoor activities from going into streams, which would give officials another enforcement mechanism against homeless camps in the city limits.

Do you think the camps are a significant contributor to water pollution? Let us know by voting in the poll.