Overview

The NAWQA Pesticide National Synthesis Project, which began in 1992, is a national-scale assessment of the occurrence and behavior of pesticides in streams and ground water of the United States and the potential for pesticides to adversely affect drinking-water supplies or aquatic ecosystems.

Features

• NEW -- Estimated concentrations of atrazine plus deethylatrazine in agricultural groundwater:
  • Regression models for estimating concentrations of atrazine plus deethylatrazine in shallow groundwater in agricultural areas of the United States: Journal of Environmental Quality (2012)
  • Press Release
• Trends in Pesticide Concentrations in Urban Streams:
  • Trends in pesticide concentrations in urban streams in the United States, 1992-2008: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5139, 101 p. (2010)
• Trends in Pesticides in Corn Belt Rivers and Streams:
  • Trends in pesticide concentrations in Corn-Belt streams, 1996–2006: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5132, 75 p. (2009)
  • Trends in concentrations and use of agricultural herbicides for Corn Belt rivers, 1996-2006: Environmental Science and Technology (2009)
• Prediction of Atrazine Concentrations: Estimate atrazine concentrations in your stream with this interactive model and mapping tool.
  The Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) Atrazine Model has been updated with 2007 atrazine use and improved evaluation of water-quality benchmarks.
• The Quality of Our Nation's Waters
  Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1992-2001
  Released March 2, 2006

• Full Report
• Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Supporting Information

• Recent Publications

• Nowell, L.H., Moran, P.W., Gilliom, R.J., Calhoun, D.L., Ingersoll, C.G., Kemble, N.E., Kuivila, K.M., Phillips, P.J., in press, Contaminants in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas: I. Distribution in relation to urbanization: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. DOI 10.1007/s00244-012-9813-0 Available Online


• Kemble, N.E., Hardesty, D.K., Ingersoll, C.G., Kunz, J.L., Sibley, P.K., Calhoun, D.L., Gilliom, R.J., Kuivila, K.M., Nowell, L.H., Moran, P.W., in press, Contaminants in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas: II. Sediment toxicity to the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. DOI 10.1007/s00244-012-9815-y Available Online


• Nakagaki, Naomi, Hitt, K.J., Price, C.V., and Falcone, J.A., 2012, Methods to characterize environmental settings of stream and groundwater sampling sites for National Water-Quality Assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012?5194, 56 p. Available Online


• Toccalino, P.L., Norman, J.E., Booth, N.L, Thompson, J.L., and Zogorski, J.S., 2012, Health-based screening levels: benchmarks for evaluating water-quality data: U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment Program Available Online


• Toccalino, P.L., Norman, J.E., and Scott, J.C., 2012, Chemical mixtures in untreated water from public-supply wells in the U.S.-Occurrence, composition, and potential toxicity: Science of the Total Environment, v. 431, p. 262-270. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.05.044 Available Online

Atrazine is one of the most extensively used herbicides in the United States, with average annual use over 70 million pounds – primarily for corn and sorghum. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 3.0 µg/L for atrazine in public drinking-water supplies. MCLs are not regulatory standards for domestic supplies, but serve as benchmarks for potential human-health concerns. USEPA determined that atrazine and deethylatrazine (DEA), a breakdown product of atrazine, have additive toxicity and they have been considered together in this assessment for evaluating potential health concerns.

This map shows the predicted probability that atrazine plus DEA will exceed 3.0 µg/L in shallow groundwater underlying agricultural lands. About 95% of the nation’s agricultural areas have less than a 10% chance of exceeding this threshold. Although shallow groundwater in agricultural areas is seldom tapped by public-supply wells, these predictions are conservatively high estimates of the probability that atrazine plus DEA will exceed the MCL in deeper groundwater that may be used for drinking-water supplies. The highest probabilities are predicted for shallow groundwater in agricultural areas where substantial atrazine use is combined with natural conditions of permeable soils and high groundwater recharge, such as parts of eastern Nebraska. Probabilities of high concentrations are lower across much of the Corn Belt, where atrazine use is greatest, but soils tend to be poorly drained and often require artificial drainage that diverts recharge from groundwater to nearby streams. These findings are based on statistical models developed from almost 20 years of nation-wide monitoring data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program. Model predictions can be used to identify areas where atrazine may or may not be of concern and set priorities for future monitoring.

For further details, see Stackelberg, P.E., Barbash, J.E., Gilliom, R.J., Stone, W.W., and Wolock, D.M., 2012, Regression models for estimating concentrations of atrazine plus deethylatrazine in shallow groundwater in agricultural areas of the United States. Journal of Environmental Quality 41(2). Available online at https://www.crops.org/publications/jeq/view/41-2/q11-0200.pdf

Posted on February 27, 2012