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The Quality of Our Nation's Waters

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1225

Nutrients and Pesticides

This report is also available in pdf format.

Table of Contents

The first two sections provide a general overview of findings on nutrients and pesticides and their implications for water-resource management and protection. More detailed technical discussions of the sources, distributions, and potential effects of these chemicals are provided in subsequent sections

Front cover
Inside front cover--Acknowledgments
Title page
Back of title page
National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Introduction to this report
A systematic approach to understanding nutrients and pesticides
National findings and their implications for water policies.
  Water quality patterns in agricultural areas
  Water quality patterns in urban areas
  Water quality patterns in areas with mixed land use and a range of hydrologic and environmental settings.
National findings and their implications for water policies and strategies
Sources of nutrients and pesticides
Methods used for collecting and analysing nutrient and pesticide data
Nutrients
  Background concentrations of nutrients are low in streams and ground water
  Human activities have increased nutrients above background concentrations
  Nutrients are a potential concern for human health
  Nutrients are a potential concern for aquatic life
  Nutrient conditions differ by land use
  Differences in occurrence and behavior of nutrients complicate prediction of effects and management options
  Modeling integrates information to estimate risks of nitrate contamination to shallow ground water
Pesticides
  Decades of pesticide use have resulted in their wide-spread occurrence in streams and ground water
  Pesticides are a potential concern for human health and aquatic life
  The most frequently detected pesticides are those most heavily used--now or in the past
  Different pesticides dominate in different land-use areas
  Pesticides found in major rivers and aquifers reflect contributions from both agricultural and urban areas
  Geographic distributions of pesticides follow patterns in land use and pesticide use
  Herbicides in streams and major rivers were highest in the most intensively farmed agricultural regions
  Insecticides in streams were highest in urban areas
  Organochlorine insecticides were highest in urban streams and where historical agricultural use was greatest
  Herbicides in shallow ground water were most common beneath agricultural areas
  Insecticides were seldom found in ground water but may be a concern in some areas
  Differences in occurrence and behavior of pesticides complicate evaluation of potential effects
  Trends in pesticide concentrations follow changes in use
Study Unit Reports
References cited

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