Water and Pesticides

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Clean waters provide healthy ecosystems for wildlife, plants and people. Inland fresh water is the source for 70% of U.S. drinking water supply, so protecting that supply from unnecessary contamination is important. Multiple federal and state agencies, including the EPA, work together to regulate pesticides and protect our waters.

Pesticides can be beneficial for the control of pests like weeds and insects, but all pesticides (including pesticides used in organic agriculture) have some level of toxicity to organisms that live in or drink water. Read the label completely before using a pesticide in or near water. Pesticide labels have "environmental hazard statements" that:

• describe the product's relative risk to waterways;
• list the required precautions that applicators must take to protect water; and
• name sensitive species like fish, amphibians, and/or birds.

Learn more about:

Pesticides and Drinking Water

Pesticides and Water Resources

Regulation of Pesticides Applied to U.S. Waters

Exposure and Testing

Additional Resources:

• National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Water Topics - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Pesticide Properties DataBase (PPDB) - University of Hertfordshire
• OSU Extension Pesticide Properties Database
• Pesticides and Water Quality - Purdue University
• Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1999-2001 - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• How's My Waterway? - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

If you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.