USGS Fact Sheet 067-97:
Pesticides in Selected Small Streams
in the Puget Sound Basin, 1987-1995
Future Pesticide Monitoring
These results indicate that pesticides do
occur at generally small concentrations not exceeding aquatic life or
human health criteria in small streams and streambed sediments within
the Puget Sound Basin. Pesticide use and occurrence are greatest in
the urban areas of the basin. Additional pesticide monitoring will be
required to evaluate trends over time and to assess the occurrence and
distribution of currently used and new pesticides. Further pesticide
sampling will be conducted by the USGS and Ecology to better evaluate
the occurrence of pesticides with respect to land use, seasonal
variations, and storm runoff. The USGS Puget Sound Basin National Water
Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project will conduct intensive seasonal and
storm sampling of two large rivers and two small streams in the basin
to achieve the following objectives:
- Evaluate pesticide occurrence in large rivers and small
streams draining agricultural and urban areas,
- Assess seasonal and storm-related variations of pesticide
concentrations, and
- Calculate estimated loads of pesticides from selected streams
draining different land uses.
As part of the Washington State Pesticide Monitoring Program, Ecology
will continue to assess pesticide contamination in streams throughout
the basin, including cooperative sampling efforts with the USGS. The
goal of this monitoring program is to characterize pesticides
geographically and over time in water, bed sediments, and aquatic
organisms, which will provide information to improve pesticide
management in the state and ultimately help reduce the risk of
pesticide exposure that can result in adverse effects on aquatic
organisms and human health.
Puget Sound Basin NAWQA home page is
<http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/pugt/>
This page is http://
wa.water.usgs.gov
/pubs/fs/fs067/pest.g.html
Last modified: Mon Jun 9 17:25:40 1997
If you have any questions or comments about this document, contact
<nawqa_pugt_wa@usgs.gov>.