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Pesticides in Pennsylvania Groundwaters Active

By Pennsylvania Water Science Center March 24, 2021

Agreement with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Five-year program to continue 30 years of cooperation assessing groundwater quality in agricultural areas

Center News

USGS annually samples domestic groundwater wells to characterize pesticides, nutrients, and radon in agricultural areas, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Beginning in 2021, samples for major ions, trace elements, bacteria, and isotopes will also be collected. A subset of wells will be sampled for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), emerging industrial contaminants in Pennsylvania groundwaters. 

 

Basics of Groundwater (Well Water)

Well installation using a Geoprobe drilling rig

Well water can be a mix of groundwater that has been on the move in the surrounding geology for a short (days) or long (thousands of years) period of time.

Brochure (PDF)

Well Water Sampling Procedures

Water Quality sampling at Encino Rio

Your well water will be sampled from the point identified during the plumbing review. Total well sampling time should take no more than 3 hours.

Brochure (PDF)

Understanding Well Water Testing Results

Preparing water quality filter for analysis

A summary of the basic characteristics of your well is presented in the testing results.

Brochure (PDF)

This project began in 2003 to further the understanding of pesticide concentrations in different hydrogeologic settings. Pesticides sampling by USGS in Pennsylvania began in carbonate aquifers in the southeastern part of the state in the 1980s. Assessments of pesticides in groundwater were conducted in the Potomac, Delaware, Lower Susquehanna, Allegheny, and Monongahela  River basins during the first round of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA ) studies. Findings are summarized in a Previous Studies Archive. 
 

Map of hydrogeologic zones of Pennsylvania to be sampled for pesticides
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Map of hydrogeologic settings of Pennsylvania to be sampled for pesticides, 2021-2025. (Public domain.)

Related Science

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Graph estimates of agricultural pesticide use in the conterminous US

Pesticides and Water Quality

Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill pests, including insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), and fungi (fungicides). The USGS assesses the occurrence and behavior of pesticides in streams, lakes, and groundwater and the potential for pesticides to contaminate our drinking-water supplies or harm aquatic ecosystems.
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Water Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program
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Pesticides and Water Quality

Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill pests, including insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), and fungi (fungicides). The USGS assesses the occurrence and behavior of pesticides in streams, lakes, and groundwater and the potential for pesticides to contaminate our drinking-water supplies or harm aquatic ecosystems.
Learn More
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Picture of a agriculture field in California

Agricultural Activities and Pesticides

Agriculture plays an important role in our economy and many kinds of chemicals are used for the production, transportation, storage, and manufacturing of food. Agricultural areas attract a variety of wildlife and our scientists provide the needed research to understand potential hazards to wildlife from these agricultural chemicals and how unintentionally exposed animals may be affected.
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Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Agricultural Activities and Pesticides

Agriculture plays an important role in our economy and many kinds of chemicals are used for the production, transportation, storage, and manufacturing of food. Agricultural areas attract a variety of wildlife and our scientists provide the needed research to understand potential hazards to wildlife from these agricultural chemicals and how unintentionally exposed animals may be affected.
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Related data

Estimated Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use for Counties of the Conterminous United States, 2013-17 (ver. 2.0, May 2020)

This data release provides estimates of annual agricultural use of pesticide compounds in counties of the conterminous United States, for years 2013-17, compiled by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013) and Baker and Stone (2015). For all States except California, U.S. Department of Agriculture county-level data for harvested-crop acreage were used in conjunction with proprietary C
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New Jersey Water Science Center

Estimated Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use by Major Crop or Crop Group for States of the Conterminous United States, 1992-2017 (ver. 2.0, May 2020)

This data release provides state-level estimates of annual agricultural use of pesticide compounds by major crop or crop group for states in the conterminous United States, for the time period 1992-2017, compiled from data used to make county-level estimates by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013) and Baker and Stone (2015). The source of these data is the same as the published co
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New Jersey Water Science Center

Publications related to pesticides in Pennsylvania waters.

Filter Total Items: 21

Pesticides in US Rivers: Regional differences in use, occurrence, and environmental toxicity, 2013 to 2017

Pesticides pose a threat to the environment, but because of the substantial number of compounds, a comprehensive assessment of pesticides and an evaluation of the risk that they pose to human and aquatic life is challenging. In this study, improved analytical methods were used to quantify 221 pesticide concentrations in surface waters over the time period from 2013 to 2017. Samples were collected
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of contaminants in agricultural watersheds with implications for land management

If not managed properly, modern agricultural practices can alter surface and groundwater quality and drinking water resources resulting in potential negative effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Exposure to agriculturally derived contaminant mixtures has the potential to alter habitat quality and negatively affect fish and other aquatic organisms. Implementation of conservation practices
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Pesticides and pesticide degradates in groundwater used for public supply across the United States: Occurrence and human-health context

This is the first assessment of groundwater from public-supply wells across the United States to analyze for >100 pesticide degradates and to provide human-health context for degradates without benchmarks. Samples from 1204 wells in aquifers representing 70% of the volume pumped for drinking supply were analyzed for 109 pesticides (active ingredients) and 116 degradates. Among the 41% of wells whe
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Evaluating changes in matrix based, recovery-adjusted concentrations in paired data for pesticides in groundwater

Pesticide concentration data for waters from selected carbonate-rock aquifers in agricultural areas of Pennsylvania were collected in 1993–2009 for occurrence and distribution assessments. A set of 30 wells was visited once in 1993–1995 and again in 2008–2009 to assess concentration changes. The data include censored matched pairs (nondetections of a compound in one or both samples of a pair). A p
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Factors affecting groundwater quality in the Valley and Ridge aquifers, eastern United States, 1993-2002

Chemical and microbiological analyses of water from 230 wells and 35 springs in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, sampled between 1993 and 2002, indicated that bedrock type (carbonate or siliciclastic rock) and land use were dominant factors influencing groundwater quality across a region extending from northwestern Georgia to New Jersey. The analyses included naturally occurring compou
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Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Pesticides in ground water in selected agricultural land-use areas and hydrogeologic settings in Pennsylvania, 2003-07

This report was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) as part of the Pennsylvania Pesticides and Ground Water Strategy (PPGWS). Monitoring data and extensive quality-assurance data on the occurrence of pesticides in ground water during 2003–07 are presented and evaluated; decreases in the land area used for agriculture an
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Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Factors affecting water quality in selected carbonate aquifers in the United States, 1993-2005

Carbonate aquifers are an important source of water in the United States; however, these aquifers can be particularly susceptible to contamination from the land surface. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program collected samples from wells and springs in 12 carbonate aquifers across the country during 1993–2005; water-quality results for 1,042 samples were avail
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Ground-water-quality data in Pennsylvania: A compilation of computerized [electronic] databases, 1979-2004

This study, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), provides a compilation of ground-water-quality data for a 25-year period (January 1, 1979, through August 11, 2004) based on water samples from wells. The data are from eight source agencies唯orough of Carroll Valley, Chester County Health Department, Pennsylvania De
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Pesticide compounds in streamwater in the Delaware River Basin, December 1998-August 2001

During 1998-2001, 533 samples of streamwater at 94 sites were collected in the Delaware River Basin in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Of these samples, 531 samples were analyzed for dissolved concentrations of 47 pesticide compounds (43 pesticides and 4 pesticide degradation products); 70 samples wer
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Jersey Water Science Center

Water Quality in the Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware, 1998-2001

This report contains the major findings of a 1998-2001 assessment of water quality in the Delaware River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation.In these reports, water quality is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in a
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Summary of and factors affecting pesticide concentrations in streams and shallow wells of the lower Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland, 1993-95

This report presents the detection frequency of 83 analyzed pesticides, describes the concentrations of those pesticides measured in water from streams and shallow wells, and presents conceptual models of the major factors affecting seasonal and areal patterns of pesticide concentrations in water from streams and shallow wells in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin. Seasonal and areal patterns of pe
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Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Quality-assurance design applied to an assessment of agricultural pesticides in ground water from carbonate bedrock aquifers in the Great Valley of eastern Pennsylvania

Assessments to determine whether agricultural pesticides are present in ground water are performed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the aquifer monitoring provisions of the State Pesticides and Ground Water Strategy. Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture conducts the monitoring and collects samples; the Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) Laboratory analyzes the samples to m
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

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Potential toxicity of pesticides to aquatic life in U.S. rivers is widespread

A new USGS study of pesticides in U.S. rivers and streams reports that, on average, 17 pesticides were detected at least once at the 74 river and...

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USGS and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture study groundwater quality in agricultural areas

USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture have agreed on a new five-year program to continue 30 years of...

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Pesticides and their degradation products common in groundwater but at low concentrations unlikely to be human-health concern

Thousands of pesticides are used on crops and landscaping, are they in our groundwater? According to a new USGS study, the answer is a qualified yes...

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