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| Wyoming Water Science Center |
Ground-Water Monitoring for Pesticides in Wyoming
| The
ground-water monitoring program for pesticides began in 1995. The
purpose of the sampling program is to determine if pesticides are
present in ground water, in accordance with Wyoming's Generic State
Management Plan for Pesticides in Ground Water (SMP). The SMP was
cooperatively prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
by representatives from local, State, and Federal agencies, the
pesticide industry, and various agricultural and environmental
interest groups. The SMP program gives Wyoming the ability to manage
and continue the use of pesticides that might otherwise be
unavailable because of cancellation of the federal registration due
to ground-water concerns. |
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- Prioritize Counties
- Each county was evaluated to determine potential vulnerability to
pesticide contamination. The ranking was based on land use and known detections of pesticides in the ground water.
- Determine Vulnerable Areas within the County
- Vulnerability maps for each county were created by the University
of Wyoming Spatial Data and Visualization Center.
- Sampling is focused in vulnerable areas.
- Inform Public about Sampling Program
- Prior to sampling, press releases and/or public meetings are held to
inform the local community about the program.
- Locate Well Owner Volunteers
- With the help of local agencies, (Conservation Districts, Weed and
Pest Districts, for example), well owners are contacted and asked if
they would like to have their well sampled as part of the project.
- Sample Ground Water
- USGS uses specialized sampling procedures to collect data for analysis
at the part per billion and part per trillion level.
- Disseminate Information
- Information is returned to the well owner and the local communities by
letters, press releases, public meetings, and fact sheets.
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Status of monitoring
program in each Wyoming county, and the county's ground-water contamination
potential ranking.
Click on county in map or name of county in table below for
more detailed information about that county. Note that pesticide sampling of ground water will not be conducted in Yellowstone National Park.
Baseline sampling is complete for all counties. A comprehensive report to summarize and analyze the pesticide data collected during the entire project is currently underway. The report will be published in last summer 2008. Preliminary data analysis shows:
- All pesticide detections were below Wyoming Drinking Water Standards.
- Seventeen different focal pesticides have been detected.
Table 1
details the pesticide detections.
- Pesticides were detected in 174 of the 296 wells sampled (59%).
- Pesticides were detected in both urban and agricultural settings.
- Most detections were trace quantities.
- The five most commonly detected pesticides are atrazine,
picloram, prometon, simazine, and tebuthiuron.
Barbash, J.E., Thelin, G.P., Kolpin, D.W., and Gilliom, R.J., 1999, Distribution
of major herbicides in ground water of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4245, 64 p.
Meister, R.T., 2002, Farm Chemicals Handbook: Willoughby, Ohio, Meister
Publishing Co., variable pagination.
For more information, contact:
Cheryl Eddy Miller
USGS Project Manager
2617 E. Lincolnway, Suite B
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001
(307) 775-9167
Email: cemiller@usgs.gov
Hank Uhden
Wyoming Department of Agriculture
2219 Carey Avenue
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(307) 777-6574
Kevin Frederick
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division
4th Floor, Herschler Building
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(307) 777-7781
Funding for the project is provided by the Wyoming Department
of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey, and an EPA Section 319 grant
administered by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Non-Point Source
Program.
Wyoming Water Science Center
