Pesticides in Selected Small Streams
in the Puget Sound Basin, 1987-1995

by Gilbert C. Bortleson (U.S. Geological Survey) and
Dale A. Davis (Washington State Department of Ecology)

Significant Findings....Pesticides in Streams....Pesticides in Sediments....
Concentrations/Detections....Environmental Significance....Future Monitoring....
Studies/References

View data of pesticides in bed sediment

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Pesticides in the aquatic environment are a concern because of possible effects on fish, wildlife, and human health. From 1987 to 1995, Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conducted studies to assess the occurrence of pesticides in streams and streambed sediments in the Puget Sound Basin.

Most samples were collected from small streams and sloughs (none were sources of drinking water) during the spring and summer, when pesticides were most likely to have been recently applied and therefore be detected. This fact sheet summarizes data from several of these studies.