DOWN STREAM

PESTICIDES AND WATER QUALITY

Introduction:

Water is one of our most important resources.

For many new to the issue of pesticides in the water, some of the terminology and the alphabet soup of acronyms may be seem confusing. It is the aim of this website to help demystify these concepts and enable readers to better understand the science, laws, and policy that affect water quality and pesticides with an emphasis on Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. We would like to describe the current situation, help interested parties find useful information that can inform decisions, enhance communication between those with diverse interests, and aid in bringing forward workable solutions to protect our water resources.

Clackamas Watershed

The Clackamas watershed has been identified as a watershed of concern by the Oregon Water Quality Pesticide Management Team (WQPMT). The WQPMT Team is comprised of members of various state agencies who will work together to prioritize watersheds and pesticides of concern; establish water quality benchmarks; coordinate monitoring plans and activities; evaluate monitoring data; and recommend and fascilitate response measures, outreach and management activities. The DEQ Pesticide Management Plan (PMP) for 2009 list several Pesticides of Interest (POI's) and Pesticides of Concern (POP's). The WQPMT team uses a combination of the number of detections versus the percent of a reference point (benchmark) to develop a response matix. Using this method, they have developed a response matrix for the lower Clackamas watershed based on 2005-2007 DEQ monitoring.

Links:

The Situation

US Geological Survey (USGS): Pesticide Occurrence and Distribution in the Lower Clackamas River Basin, Oregon, 2000–2005

Northwest Coalition for Alternative to Pesticides LLC (NCAP), et al. vs. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Settlement Agreement on 37 pesticides [Page eight has the list of pesticides and final opinion deadlines- Ed.]

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): Draft Biological Opinion - chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion

Solutions

Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ): Pesticide Stewardship Partnerships Fact Sheet
Oregon Department of Agriculture's In Ground Nurseries and the Agricultural Water Quality Program brochure.

Drift reduction
Stock, Tim. 2008. Preventing Water Contamination and Pesticide Drift: A Checklist for Pesticide Applicators. Oregon State Univeristy Extension EM 8964-E.

Erosion control and buffer strips
Oregon Department of Agriculture's Grassed Waterways brochure.
Colquhoun, J., R. Lins, and C. Cole. 2008. Vegetative filter strips near surface water in the Pacific Northwest.Oregon State University Extension EM 8876-E
Lida, C. and C. Shock. EM 8958-S-E, La poliacrilamida: Una solución para la erosión (Make Polyacrylamide Work for You) (In Spanish)
Authors: Chelsey Lida and Clint Shock. December 2008, 5 pages, available only online
Oregon Department of Agriculture's Field Borders brochure.
Oregon Department of Agriculture's Preventing erosion and sediment deposition from Christmas tree fields.
Oregon Department of agriculture's Polyacrylamide (PAM) and erosion prevention fact sheet
Oregon Department of Agriculture's Sediment Basins and Irrigation Induced Erosion fact sheet
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Plant native vegetation and trees and create buffers along streams

Stormwater
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Stormwater Solutions Handbook
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Green Street Program

Potential funding for enhancement projects

Portland
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Community Watershed Enhancement Grants

Page modified 12/19/08