WYOMING PROJECTS

• Biology/Ecology
  • Aquatic Community Assessment
  • Characterization of Fish Creek

• Surface Water
  • Antarctic Streamgaging
  • Characterization of Fish Creek
  • Development of Regional Curves Relating Bankfull-Channel Geometry and Discharge to Drainage Area for Hydrophysiographic Regions in Wyoming
  • Drought Watch
  • Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative

• Ground Water
  • Characterization of Fish Creek
  • Coupled Real-Time Streambank Piezometer and Gaging Station
  • Jackson Hole Airport
  • Pesticide Monitoring
  • Wyoming Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network
  • Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative

• Water Quality
  • Characterization of Fish Creek
  • Pesticide Monitoring
  • Wyoming Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network
  • Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative
  • Yellowstone River Basin National Water Quality Assessment

• Water Use
  • Water Use in Wyoming

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USGS IN YOUR STATE

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

• Groundwater Data
• Surface-Water Data
• Publications

Monitoring for Pesticides in Wyoming's Water

Groundwater:

In 1995, a sampling program was initiated to develop a baseline data set of pesticides in groundwater in Wyoming.  Sampling was completed in all counties in April, 2006.  Results show pesticides in every county in the State; however, none of the 589 samples collected had a pesticide detected above an Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standard or health-advisory level (Bartos and others, 2009 (http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5024/) and Eddy-Miller and others, 2009 (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3006/)).

Sampling of selected wells in the High Plains/Casper Arch Basin (2008), Bighorn Basin (2009), and the rest of the State (2010) was conducted in order to evaluate changes in concentration and types of pesticides detected in the groundwater. A report summarizing the project findings will be published in 2012.

Surface water:

In 2006, sampling to assess the occurrence of pesticides in surface water was conducted on five sites- three in the Bighorn River Basin and two in the North Platte River Basin.  Sampling was conducted in March, May, and September to evaluate the rivers at a time prior to typical pesticide applications, after pesticide applications, and late in the season (Eddy-Miller and others, 2007 http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3017/).

Six sites were sampled in September 2009 and again in April/May of 2010. A fact sheet describing the results of all of the project's sampling of surface water was published in 2010 and is available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3011/.

For more information, contact:

Hank Uhden
Wyoming Department of Agriculture
2219 Carey Avenue
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(307) 777-6574

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