Agricultural Chemicals in Shallow Ground Water in Southern Georgia

Cooperator: Georgia Department of Agriculture
Year Started: 1999

Modern agricultural practices include the use of pesticides and fertilizers to increase crop yields. Application of these chemicals involves some risk of contamination to surface- and ground-water resources through runoff and infiltration. The Georgia Department of Agriculture has primary responsibility for pesticide regulation and is the lead agency for Georgia's ground-water protection program for pesticides. Data on the occurrence, in shallow ground water, of frequently used pesticides are not available throughout agricultural areas of Georgia. A ground-water-quality monitoring program is critical to determine if agricultural pesticide use contaminates ground-water resources, and if so, where.

Objectives

• Assess the quality of shallow ground-water resources in relation to agricultural chemical use in the Coastal Plain physiographic province in southern Georgia.
• Provide data on the occurrence of nitrate and pesticides in shallow ground water to help design a monitoring network for examining long-term trends in ground-water quality related to agricultural practices in Georgia.

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