Pollutants can build up and degrade the soil. This decline in soil quality is extremely problematic, but the risks don’t stop at erosion and crop yields. When toxins sit in the soil, they can permeate groundwater and pollute water tables. As we know, when water sources are affected, the matter becomes dire. One only needs to look to Red Hill in Hawaii, in which residents were sickened and displaced as a result of aging infrastructure that leached fuel into the drinking water.