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Pesticides in Salmonid-Bearing Streams: Intensive Sampling in an Agricultural Drain - A Cooperative Study by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Poster Presentation.
The Departments of Ecology and Agriculture have released a report summarizing monitoring data collected in 2007. The report can be viewed by clicking on the following link: Surface Water Monitoring Program for Pesticides in Salmonid-Bearing Streams, 2007 Monitoring Data Summary.
Study data are available through Ecology's Environmental Information Management (EIM) database. Results for different years can be accessed by entering "Pesticides in Salmonid-Bearing" as the Study Name.
Identify, measure, and assess pesticide residues in salmonid-bearing surface waters during the typical use season, over multiple years.
The Washington State Pesticide/Endangered Species Act (ESA) Task Force convened in March 2000 to address the considerable scientific uncertainty surrounding the effects of pesticides on the essential biological requirements of salmonids.
A key question posed by the task force was; "Is there evidence of exposure of pesticide residues to salmonids or the prey base?" They identified "a need for increased surface water monitoring that reflects current land-use patterns/practices as they relate to salmonid habitat and biology."
The task force recommended several Watershed Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) for pesticide monitoring. Among these were both agricultural and urban basins. The report detailing these findings is available at the following link: A Process for Evaluating Pesticides in Washington State Surface Waters for Potential Impact to Salmonids.
In 2002, WSDA contracted with Ecology to design and conduct a multi-year surface water monitoring program to characterize pesticide concentrations in salmonid-bearing streams.
The data collected will allow the WSDA, EPA, USFWS, and NOAA to refine exposure assessments for pesticides registered for use in Washington State. Understanding the fate and transport of pesticides used in Washington allows regulators to make appropriate decisions to protect endangered species while minimizing the economic impacts to agriculture.
A wide range of current and historical use pesticides (and degradates) are analyzed in this study. Conventional water quality parameters--total suspended solids, pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and discharge--were measured to better understand chemical fate and toxicity.
The primary criteria applied in site selection included: location within an ESA-listed (threatened or endangered) salmonid Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU), documented salmonid presence, land use, and historical pesticide detections.
Five watersheds were selected for this study because they fit the primary criteria.
Thornton Creek is located in the Cedar-Sammamish Watershed Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8, in the Puget Sound basin. WRIA 8 is within Puget Sound Chinook ESU (threatened), Coastal Puget Sound Bull Trout Distinct Population Segment (DPS) (threatened), Puget Sound Steelhead (threatened) and the Puget Sound/Straight of Georgia Coho ESU (species of concern).
Western Washington agriculture is represented by four drainages within the Lower Skagit-Samish WRIA 3: Big Ditch, Browns Slough, Indian Slough, and Samish River. The Lower Skagit-Samish WRIA supports several Puget Sound salmonid populations (Chinook, Coho, Chum, Pink, Sockeye, Bull Trout/Dolly Varden, and Steelhead).
The Lower Skagit-Samish watershed has numerous minor crops such as bulbs (daffodil, iris, and tulip), berries, seed crops, sod, potatoes, peas, and cucumber. The diversity of crops, pesticide use, and large percentages of cropped area are the driving forces for choosing WRIA 3 to represent western Washington agriculture.
Eastern Washington agriculture is represented by eight drainages within three watersheds. The Lower Yakima WRIA 37: Marion Drain, Sulphur Creek Wasteway, and Spring Creek; Wenatchee WRIA 45: Wenatchee River, Brender Creek, Mission Creek, Peshastin Creek; and Entiat WRIA 46: Entiat River. Each WRIA supports diverse salmonid populations (Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Steelhead, and Bull Trout/Dolly Varden) All three watersheds have numerous minor crops such as currants, cherries, alfalfa, mint, asparagus, apples, and pears. The diversity of crops, pesticide use, and large percentages of cropped area are the driving forces for choosing these WRIAs to represent eastern Washington agriculture.
Results of this ongoing study are presented as annual monitoring reports, or data summaries, supplemented by three-year reviews. When possible, the three year review will assess potential pesticide effects to salmonids, their prey base, and habitat. Dissimilar sample regimes of 2003 to years 2004-2005 reduced the ability for direct comparison of the first three-year data set. More detailed effects analyses will take place according to weight of evidence, over multiple years.
Temporal trends and potential impacts to aquatic species are investigated through comparison to (1) EPA registration toxicological criteria for fish, aquatic invertebrates, and plants, (2) Washington State Water Quality Standards, and (3) EPA National Recommended Water Quality Criteria.
The report summarizes data collected from February through October 2007 in the Cedar-Sammamish, Lower Skagit-Samish, Lower Yakima, Wenatchee, and Entiat watersheds.
Year 2007 is the first of a three-year study cycle to investigate pesticide occurrence in the Wenatchee and Entiat watersheds, the second in the Skagit-Samish watershed, and the fifth in a six-year cycle to study pesticides in the Cedar-Sammamish and Lower Yakima watersheds.
Results from monitoring and changes that occurred in the study design are provided. An in-depth analysis of data will be released at the end of the second study cycle (2009).
For detailed information on this data summary or previously released reports, see the links provided under the ‘Documents’ section below.
The surface water monitoring program will soon begin work on an in-depth analysis of data collected over the last six years. The analysis will explore trends over time and relationships between detected (and non-detected) pesticides and conventional water quality parameters (total suspended solids, pH, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and discharge). Data will be evaluated against toxicity criteria used for pesticide registration under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Washington State water quality standards, and Environmental Protection Agency National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC). In addition, monitoring data will be compared to the life history and habitat utilization of salmon in the five watersheds. A report detailing the analysis will be released in 2009.
For detailed information and results, follow the link to each report.
To download results data, follow the link below to Ecology's EIM system. Study data are available through Ecology's Environmental Information Management (EIM) database. Results for different years can be accessed by entering "Pesticides in Salmonid-Bearing" as the Study Name.
Ecology Project Lead: Debby Sargeant
Phone: (360) 407-6139
Email:
dsar461@ecy.wa.gov
Western Washington Field Lead: Paul
Anderson
Phone: (360) 407-7548
Email: pand461@ecy.wa.gov
Eastern Washington Field Lead: Dan Dugger
Phone: (509) 454-4183
Email:
ddug461@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
