1.800.858.7378 npic@ace.orst.edu
We're open from 8:00AM to 12:00PM Pacific Time, Mon-Fri

• Health & Environment
  • Human Health
  • Animal Health
  • Safe Use Practices
  • Food Safety
  • Environment
    • Air
    • Water
    • Soil
    • Wildlife
    • Plants
• Pest Control
  • Identify Your Pest
  • Learn About Your Pest
  • Control Your Pest
  • Integrated Pest Management
• Pesticide Products
  • NPRO: Pesticide Product Search
  • Pesticide Ingredients
    • Active Ingredients
    • Other/Inert Ingredients
  • Low-Risk Pesticides
  • Organic Pesticide Ingredients
• Pesticide Incidents
  • Human Exposure
  • Pet Exposure
  • Environmental Incident
  • Illegal Pesticide Activity
  • Problem With Labels or Containers
• Emergency
  • Human Poisonings
  • Pet Poisoning
  • Spills and Contamination
  • Wildlife Poisoning / Environmental Incident
• 

You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticides and the Environment Water and Pesticides

Water and Pesticides

Clean waters provide healthy ecosystems for wildlife, plants and people. Inland fresh water is the source for 70% of U.S. drinking water supply, so protecting that supply from unnecessary contamination is important. Multiple federal and state agencies, including the EPA, work together to regulate pesticides and protect our waters.

Pesticides can be beneficial for the control of pests like weeds and insects, but every pesticide (including organic pesticides) has some level of toxicity to organisms that live in or drink water. Read the label completely before using a pesticide in or near water. Pesticide labels have "environmental hazard statements" that:

• Describe the product's relative risk to waterways
• List the required precautions that applicators must take to protect water
• Name sensitive species like fish, amphibians or birds

To learn more about pesticides and water, visit these resources:

• Pesticides and Drinking Water
• Pesticides and Water Resources
• Regulation of Pesticides Applied to U.S. Waters
• Exposure and Testing

If you have questions about pesticides in the environment, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Additional Resources

• National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Our Waters - U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Pesticide Properties Database - Oregon State University Extension
• Pesticides and Water Quality - Purdue University
• Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1999-2001 - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• How's My Waterway? - U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

Disponible en español

Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.