Agricultural chemical interchange between ground water and surface water, Cedar River basin, Iowa and Minnesota: A study description

A review of the data collected in the Cedar River basin, Iowa and Minnesota, indicates that atrazine is consistently detected in the main-stem river at concentrations greater than 0.10 microgram per liter even during periods of extended base flow. The primary source of atrazine in the river during these periods of base flow is not known. This study is designed to determine how atrazine and other agricultural chemicals move between ground water and surface water in an alluvial aquifer adjacent to a river. A site has been selected in an unfarmed area adjacent to the Cedar River near Bertram, Iowa, to determine how the concentrations of agricultural chemicals in the alluvial aquifer change as a result of bank storage of surface water. Research also is planned to determine the contribution of agricultural chemicals discharged by the alluvial aquifer into the river during base flow.