Emerging Surface Water Issues And Pesticides

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Emerging Surface Water Issues And Pesticides
- CURES - Coalition For Urban/Rural
Environmental Stewardship
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Problem Pesticides In Urban Runoff

• Pesticide detections on the rise.
• Regulators seeking voluntary solutions.
• If not solved soon, regulatory action is likely.

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Why Is Surface Water Issue Emerging?

• EPA and states moving from point to non-point
  pollution.
• More attention to managing non-point source
  pollution.

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Key Player the Water Flea

• Water flea (ceriodaphnia dubia).
• Indicator species.
• Sensitive at parts per trillion.

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Detections in CA Rivers and Streams

• Some samples toxic to water flea.
• Only in occasional spikes.
• Not above health advisory levels.
• Regulations in the works.

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Pesticides Detected In Delta Tributaries
(Salt Slough, Orestimba Creek, Merced River)
Malathion Pebulate - Tillam Metolachlor -
Dual Molinate - Ordram Napropamide - Devrinol
Methomyl - Lannate Pronamide - Kerb Propargite -
Comite/Omite Simazine - Princep Triflurilin -
Trelan DDE, p, p

• Alachlor - Lasso/Lexan
• Atrazine
• Carbaryl - Sevin
• Chlorpyrifos - Lorsban
• Dieldrin
• Cynazine - Bladex
• Diuron - Karmex
• Diazinon
• Dacthal
• EPTC - Eptam
• Fonofos - Dyphonate

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Pesticides Detected In Urban CreeksNewport Bay

• Carbaryl - Sevin
• Chlorpyrifos - Dursban
• Benomyl - Benlate
• Diuron - Karmex
• Diazinon
• Methidathion - Supracide

Methomyl - Lannate Pendimethalin -
Prowl Malathion Oryzalin - Surflan Simazine -
Princep Triflurilin - Trelan
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Nonpoint Source Contamination (NPS)

• Improper application of chemicals.
• spray drift
• aerial spray or dumping over water
• Irrigation
• Tailwater runoff
• Leaching
• Overland runoff
• heavy rain

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Nonpoint Source Contamination (NPS)

• Mixing and Loading
• No containment
• Improper site
• Urban Runoff
• Urban streams

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Point Source Contamination

• A driver for non-point source regulations.
• Based on Clean Water Act regulations.
• Permitted Discharges
• Manufacturing
• Water treatment plants
• Storm runoff

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Why Now?

• Technologies of detection part per trillion.
• Ease of using testing kits.
• Emphasis shift from point to nonpoint sources.
• Increased monitoring -- just beginning.
• USGS, State activities
• for monitoring.
• CWA, State funds, CalFed

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What the Issue is Not About

• Human health concerns.
• Direct effects on fish.
• Ecological significance?
• Persistent toxicants.

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What the Issue Is About

• Recurring part per trillion level of pesticides.
• Initial focus on organophosphate insecticides.
• Toxicity to a sensitive screening organism.
• Water flea Ceriodaphnia dubia

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What the Issue Is About

• FIFRA vs. Clean Water Act Standards.
• Overlapping jurisdictions.
• DPR and State/Regional Water Boards
• The need for refined science what is ecological
  significance?
• Science-based regulations needed.

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What is the Clean Water Act Process?

• Identify impaired waters - 303(d) Lists.
• Revised every two years
• Prioritize Total Maximum Daily Load development.
• Develop TMDLs.
• quantitative assessment of water quality problem
• sources
• actions to restore/protect the water body

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Pollutants/Stressors in 303(d) Listings

• Fertilizer/Nutrients
• Pathogens (e coli, coloform)
• Sediment
• Pesticides

• Metals (mining runoff)
• Salinity
• Diazinon
• Chlorpyrifos

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TMDL - Total Maximum Daily Load

• TMDL point sources non-point sources
• background margin of safety.

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TMDL Litigation by States

• EPA under court order to establish TMDLs
• OR, AK, GA, CA (North Coast), PA, AZ, NM, WV, DL,
  CA (Newport Bay)
• Litigation filed (December 1997)
• D.C., AL, FL, MS, CA (Los Angeles)
• 42 cases

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CA Urban Creek TMDL Priorities

• OP Pesticide TMDLs for CA urban creeks
• Chollas Creek, San Diego due April 2000.
• Upper Newport Bay, urban creeks, Orange County
  due Jan. 2002.
• San Francisco Bay, urban creeks due 2002/03.
• Sacramento/Stockton, urban creeks due 2012
  (pressure to complete on SF Bay timeline).

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Newport Bay TMDL Priorities

• Preliminary staff report - March 2000
• TMDL draft language in 3-6 months later.
• Public hearings/stakeholder meetings.
• Finalize mitigation measures.
• To Office Administrative Law to finalize.

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Newport Bay Problem

• Toxicity from almost all storm events.
• Highest toxicity ever found in state.
• 50 from Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon
• Unknown persistence beyond 96 hrs.

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Potential TMDL Impacts

• Pressure for regulatory controls on agriculture,
  urban and other non-point sources
• Wasteload allocation with little data or science
• Tighter discharge limits on point source permits

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CA Pesticide Water Quality Program

• MAA (Management Agency Agreement) between DPR, Ag
  Commissioners, and State Water Resource Control
  Board - Feb. 1997
• Developed to
• address overlapping authorities
• reduce duplication of effort, inconsistencies,
  confusion of regulated public

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Pesticide Management Plan (PMP) for Water Quality

• Implements the Management Agency Agreement
• Mitigate problems using phased approach
• Stage 1 Outreach Education - preventative
• Stage 2 Self Regulating - sponsors
• Stage 3 Regulatory (DPR Commissioners)
• Stage 4 Regulatory (State/Regional Water Boards)

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Why Best Management Practices?

• Are BMPs the answer?
• What are my alternatives to BMPs?
• BMPs will slow down the process.

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What happens if BMPs are adopted?

• No regulations (ideally).
• Exemptions.
• Less severe restrictions in the future.

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Urban BMPs

• Goal Control non-point source pollution
• Reduce off-site transport of sediment, nutrients,
  pesticides.

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Urban BMPs

• Transport Mechanism Hows it moving off-site?
• Stormwater runoff
• Irrigation runoff
• Washed off during hose down
• Drains in building/facility/home

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Urban BMPs

• Stormwater Runoff manage potential movement
• Dont spray just before storms.
• No overspray on hard surfaces sweep up granules
  from driveways.
• Consider alternative controls in areas where
  stormwater channels or drains off the site.
• Evaluate drain pest treatments.

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Urban BMPs

• Irrigation Runoff
• Avoid overwatering to point of runoff.
• Consider frequent light irrigations (when product
  must be watered-in to turf or landscape.)

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Urban BMPs

• Building/facility/home drains
• Drains eventually reach river/ocean.
• Dont dispose of rinsewater in drains.
• Dont dispose leftovers in drains.

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Urban BMPs

• Pest Control Practices
• Take an IPM approach
• ID the pest, host, habitat
• Consider all control options
• Treat only where needed
• Monitor results

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Best Management Practices

• Surface water
• vegetation buffer strips
• water holding periods
• containment/catch basins
• application buffers
• mixing areas w/containment and rinsate recycling

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Vegetation Buffer Strips

• 20-foot wide vegetation strip along waterways and
  on downhill side of field
• Plant cover crop
• legumes
• native perennial grasses
• Physical barrier
• slows water - sediment deposition
• captures/absorbs available materials

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Mixing and Loading

• Contained concrete mixing/loading pad
• Flat area, disked or graveled
• Recycling system for rinsate
• Recycle rinsate into the spray mix
• Spray rinsate on the field
• Stay away from wells

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Sprayer Technology

• Use dry locks on spray equipment
• Increase droplet size
• use drift retardants
• avoid windy spray conditions (see label)
• Equipment maintenance
• avoid leaks and broken hoses
• Turn sprayer off at end of row

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Managing Drift From Airblast Sprayers

• Most drift comes from outside 2 rows
• First/last passes through the orchard
• Dont spray inside of row 1 or 2
• Spray outside -inward on perimeter rows, slowing
  down to improve coverage.

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Managing Drift From Airblast Sprayers

• Direct spray at canopy, not open spaces.
• Base of tree and gap between rows (straight up)
• Almond canopy begins 6 feet from ground.
• Set nozzle angle to cover target only.
• Canopy is the greatest interceptor of spray.
• Use nozzles that produce bigger droplets.

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Tough Questions Yet To Be Answered

• Which programs will trump.
• What will those programs look like?
• Which best management practices will solve the
  problem?

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What Needs To Be Done by Regulators?

• Better Define Problem
• Extent of impact
• Which pesticides
• Characteristics of pesticides
• Source Identification
• Where they coming from?
• BMP Development
• Address Regulatory Issues
• CWA, Stormwater agencies, etc

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What Does The Future Hold ...

• Who shapes our future?
• Industry
• Regulators