Lisa Nowell is a Research Chemist with the USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP), National Water Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA).
Since 2013, I have been part of the Regional Stream-Quality Assessment (RSQA) team, which is a multidisciplinary team conducting a series of multistressor studies of wadable streams in the Midwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, Northeast, and Central Coastal California regions. My primary focus is to track, interpret and model the occurrence of pesticides in stream water and sediment at the regional scale; and to interpret data on sediment toxicity and ecological condition in relation to chemical stressors. I have participated in the design and implementation of NAWQA since 1991, when I first joined the USGS as a member of NAWQA’s Pesticide National Synthesis team. Since that time, I have conducted national and regional-scale assessments of pesticides in water, sediment, and aquatic biota, and with my colleagues have developed tools (such as sediment benchmarks, aquatic-life benchmarks, the Pesticide Toxicity Index, and Health-Based Screening Levels) for interpreting the biological significance of pesticides in water and sediment. I also evaluated contaminants in water and sediment on the Gulf Coast before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and I co-authored a book on pesticides in stream sediment and aquatic biota.
Before coming to the USGS, I worked for the Food and Drug Administration; was an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow in environmental science and engineering at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and conducted post-doctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) in Switzerland. I am an active member of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), American Chemical Society, and American Geophysical Union. I currently serve on the Meetings Committee and 2018 Program Committee of SETAC North America, and I am an Associate Editor of the journal, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal.
Science and Products
Pesticides and Water Quality
Water-Quality Benchmarks for Contaminants
Estimated Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms in Midwestern Streams Driven by Relatively Few of the 227 Pesticides Analyzed
New Sediment-Toxicity Benchmarks Available for Pesticides in Whole Sediment
Science and Products
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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.Water-Quality Benchmarks for Contaminants
How does the water quality measure up? It all depends on what the water will be used for and what contaminants are of interest. Water-quality benchmarks are designed to protect drinking water, recreation, aquatic life, and wildlife. Here you’ll find links to some of the most widely used sets of water, sediment, and fish tissue benchmarks and general guidance about their interpretation.Estimated Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms in Midwestern Streams Driven by Relatively Few of the 227 Pesticides Analyzed
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists measured and estimated potential acute and chronic toxicity for 227 pesticides in agricultural and urban streams in Midwestern United States. Numerous pesticides were detected at low levels. Atrazine, acetochlor, metolachlor, imidacloprid, fipronil, selected organophosphate insecticides, and carbendazim were determined to be major contributors to toxicity...New Sediment-Toxicity Benchmarks Available for Pesticides in Whole Sediment
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists developed 129 sediment-toxicity benchmarks for use in evaluating currently used pesticides in whole sediment. - Data
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