Does the use of pesticides affect our Nation's water quality?
Pesticide use in the United States has increased because not only must we supply our exploding population with food, but crops and food are also grown for export to other countries. The United States has become the largest producer of food products in the world, partly owing to our use of modern chemicals (pesticides) to control the insects, weeds, and other organisms that attack food crops. But, as with many things in life, there's a hidden cost to the benefit we get from pesticides. We've learned that pesticides can potentially harm the environment and our own health. Water plays an important role here because it is one of the main ways that pesticides are transported from the areas where they are applied to other locations where they might cause health problems.
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USGS National Water Quality Monitoring Network
What is the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Monitoring Network?Understanding the water quality of U.S. streams and rivers requires consistent data collection and analysis over decades. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water Quality Network (NWQN) was established to facilitate national-scale understanding of surface-water...
Riskin, Melissa L.; Lee, Casey J.
Agriculture — A river runs through it — The connections between agriculture and water quality
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Capel, Paul D.; McCarthy, Kathleen A.; Coupe, Richard H.; Grey, Katia M.; Amenumey, Sheila E.; Baker, Nancy T.; Johnson, Richard L.
Understanding the influence of nutrients on stream ecosystems in agricultural landscapes
Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together,...
Munn, Mark D.; Frey, Jeffrey W.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Black, Robert W.; Duff, John H.; Lee, Kathy; Maret, Terry R.; Mebane, Christopher A.; Waite, Ian R.; Zelt, Ronald B.
Contaminants in urban waters—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey
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Jastram, John D.; Hyer, Kenneth E.
Ecological health in the Nation's streams
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Carlisle, Daren; Woodside, Michael D.
Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in Principal Aquifers of the United States, 1991-2004
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DeSimone, Leslie A. The quality of our nation’s waters— Quality of water from domestic wells in principal aquifers of the United States, 1991–2004— Overview of major findings
More than 43 million people - about 15 percent of the U.S. population - rely on domestic wells as their source of drinking water (Hutson and others, 2004). The quality and safety of water from domestic wells, also known as private wells, are not regulated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act or, in most cases, by state laws. Rather, individual...
DeSimone, Leslie A.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Gilliom, Robert J.
Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1992–2001
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Gilliom, Robert J.; Barbash, Jack E.; Crawford, Charles G.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Nakagaki, Naomi; Nowell, Lisa H.; Scott, Jonathan C.; Stackelberg, Paul E.; Thelin, Gail P.; Wolock, David M.
Pesticides in the nation's streams and ground water, 1992-2001 - a summary
Gilliom, Robert J.; Hamilton, Pixie A. Water Quality in the Nation's Streams and Aquifers Overview of Selected Findings, 1991-2001
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Hamilton, Pixie A.; Miller, Timothy L.; Myers, Donna N.
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Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report describing the occurrence of pesticides in streams and ground water during 1992-2001.
Pesticide Levels in Streams and Rivers -- CIDA, WARP
Estimated Agricultural Pesticide Use Map
Pesticide Map for Pollinator Story
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Pesticide sampling at Conowingo Dam
Water Quality sampling off of catwalk at Conowingo Dam.
Lowering pump down monitoring well to sample for pesticides
Lowering pump down monitoring well to sample for pesticides
USGS Scientist Collecting a Water-Quality Sample from Zollner Creek, Oregon, for the Analysis of Dissolved Pesticides
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologic technician Dan Polette collecting a water-quality sample from Zollner Creek, Oregon for a national-scale investigation of the environmental occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in agricultural and urban settings.
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Crop dusting spreads pesticides on agricultural lands, Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound National Monitoring Network Pilot
Albemarle Monitoring: Organics
Crop dusting is one technique used to spread pesticides on agricultural lands
in the Albemarle Sound region.