Water Quality Protection
When the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a 10-year study of pesticides in surface and groundwater from 1992 to 2002, it collected water samples from 186 stream sites, sediment samples from 1,052 sites and fish samples from 700 sites.
Pesticides or pesticide residues were present at every single site.
Fortunately, most of the concentrations were low and not dangerous to human health. However, the findings made the problem crystal clear – pesticides find their way into rivers, streams and groundwater sources across the United States, and they don’t belong there.
To address the issue, the Western Integrated Pest Management Center chose protecting water sources from pesticide contamination as one of its first-ever signature projects and created three training modules focused on keeping pesticides out of water sources. One is aimed at agricultural applicators, one at professional urban landscapers, and one at homeowners.
Each module is a PowerPoint slide set, designed to be used by pesticide safety trainers and adapted as needed for their specific audiences. Download them below.
- Water Quality Protection Slides for Agriculture
- Water Quality Protection Slides for Landscape Professionals
- Water Quality Protection Slides for Homeowners
In a little more than one year, the slides were downloaded 106 times in 20 U.S. states and one Canadian province, and used to train more than 1,400 people.