Pesticide monitoring in Irrigation Water

Agrochemcial residues in waterways: assessing & managing ecosystem risk in Victoria's catchments

During 2004-05 and 2005-06 irrigation seasons, a pesticide and heavy metals monitoring study was conducted at 15 potential risk sites located within the six Goulburn-Murray Water irrigation areas in northern Victoria. The risk sites included intensive orchards (pome & stone fruit), vineyards, vegetables (intensive tomatoes), channel offtakes, channel outfall, stock & domestic and town supplies, and aquaculture. The study includes deployment and retrieval of passive samplers, spot water sampling and analysis and interpretation of results of targeted pesticides and related heavy metals. The monitoring found three agriculture chemicals on a regular basis across the six irrigation areas. These were : endosulfan (an organochlorine insecticide), atrazine (herbicide) and copper (fungicide). The two other chemicals that were found on an irregular basis were chlorpyrifos and parathion methyl (organophosphates).

2004-2005 Irrigation Season Study Report: Interim Report - 1 (PDF - 570KB) (external link) acan be downloaded from the Goulburn Murray Water Website.

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