Pesticides very low in two watersheds
YAKIMA – Very low levels of pesticide residues were detected in two Washington state watersheds in the first year of a three-year pesticide monitoring program, according to a report released Monday.
In 2002, the state Department of Agriculture contracted with the state Department of Ecology to monitor pesticide concentrations in salmon-bearing streams. Two watersheds were selected for the monitoring to represent agricultural pesticide use and urban pesticide use.
No pesticide residues were detected in about 96 percent of the samples in either watershed, according to the report. The remaining 4 percent of the samples showed minimal or barely detectable levels.
When pesticide residues were detected, 46 pesticides were found in the agricultural sampling sites. Seventeen pesticides were detected in samples from the urban watershed. Surface water was sampled for 87 registered pesticides.
Jim Cowles, project manager for the state Department of Agriculture, said that while it was too soon to draw any conclusions, “The concentration results for the first year were very low, and that’s good news.”
Results of the three-year study will help determine any efforts that might be needed, particularly by farmers, to reduce pesticide exposure, Cowles said.
“Having this kind of information will help us make better decisions to protect endangered species while minimizing the economic impact on agriculture,” Agriculture Director Valoria Loveland said in a news release.
As part of the program, three drainages in the Lower Yakima Valley watershed were monitored for agricultural pesticide use: Spring Creek, Sulphur Creek and Marion Drain. Thornton Creek in King County was monitored to represent pesticide use in an urban watershed.
In both watersheds, samples were taken weekly from April through June 2003. In the Lower Yakima Valley, biweekly sampling continued through the summer of 2003. The agencies are now midway through the second year of the project.
Last January in Seattle, a federal judge restricted the use of 38 pesticides near salmon streams in Washington, Oregon and California after environmental groups filed suit, arguing that even tiny amounts of chemicals in rivers harm salmon.
The decision is on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“There’s always room for improvement, but we’d like to think this shows pesticides are not impairing water quality as some would believe,” said Heather Hansen, executive director of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests.
The group was one of several that intervened in the court case, trying unsuccessfully to have the judge drop his order while the case is on appeal.
Patti Goldman, an Earthjustice lawyer representing environmental groups in the case, disagreed. Even minimal levels of some pesticides can be dangerous to animal and human health, she said.
“While it’s reassuring that they didn’t find high levels of pesticides, it’s alarming they were still found at all,” she said. “Every time they do find them is a failure.”