Relations of Water Quality to Agricultural Chemical Use and Environmental Setting at Various Scales - Results from Selected Studies of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

U.S. Geological Survey

Abstract:

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of 51 major river basins and aquifers across the United States as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to provide scientifically sound information for managing the Nation‘s water resources. The major goals of the NAWQA Program are to assess the status and long-term trends of the Nation‘s surface- and ground-water quality and to understand the natural and human factors that affect it (Gilliom and others, 1995). In 2001, the NAWQA Program began a second decade of intensive water-quality assessments. The 42 study units for this second decade were selected to represent a wide range of important hydrologic environments and potential contaminant sources. These NAWQA studies continue to address the goals of the first decade of the assessments to determine how water-quality conditions are changing over time. In addition to local- and regional-scale studies, NAWQA began to analyze and synthesize water-quality status and trends at the principal aquifer and major river-basin scales. This fact sheet summarizes results from four NAWQA studies that relate water quality to agricultural chemical use and environmental setting at these various scales: * Comparison of ground-water quality in northern and southern High Plains agricultural settings (principal aquifer scale); * Distribution patterns of pesticides and degradates in rain (local scale); * Occurrence of pesticides in shallow ground water underlying four agricultural areas (local and regional scales); and * Trends in nutrients and sediment over time in the Missouri River and its tributaries (major river-basin scale).

Genre:

USGS Numbered Series

ProdID:

97193

Citation Author:

U.S. Geological Survey

Citation Contributing Office:

Nebraska Water Science Center

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Version 1.0

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Citation Language:

ENGLISH

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Citation LatN:

0500000

Citation LatS:

0350000

Citation LonE:

-0900000

Citation LonW:

-1150000

Citation Month:

Nov

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Citation Phsyical Description:

6 p.

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Citation Public Comments:

Prepared as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Citation Publisher:

U.S. Geological Survey

Citation Series:

Fact Sheet

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Citation Series Number:

2007-3088

Citation Search Results Text:

Relations of Water Quality to Agricultural Chemical Use and Environmental Setting at Various Scales - Results from Selected Studies of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program; 2008; FS; 2007-3088; U.S. Geological Survey