Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009ME172B

A sequential time-weighted average monitoring approach for monitoring pesticide levels in Maine surface waters.

Institute: Maine
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $6,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $23,800

Principal Investigators: Aria Amirbahman, Lucner Charlestra, David Courtemanch

Project Summary: The pesticides used in the cultivation of wild low bush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) in Washington and Hancock Counties (ME) alter Atlantic Salmon (Salmo solar) behavior. Surface water surveys conducted by the University of Maine and the Board of Pesticide Control (BPC) have detected hexazinone, phosmet, terbacil, chlorothalonil and propiconazole in rivers supporting Atlantic salmon populations (Yarborough, 2004; Jackson, 2003). The sampling methods traditionally used (grab sampling and ISCO auto samplers) provide concentration estimates only for the moment of sampling and do not assess temporal exposure of Atlantic Salmons or other aquatic organisms to episodic events in the streams. Therefore, there are unanswered questions about the term of exposure of Atlantic Salmons or other aquatic organisms to episodic events in the streams. This project proposes to use a passive sampler (Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler [POCIS]) to develop a sequential monitoring approach to detect pesticides in some Washington and Hancock Counties watersheds that would estimate time-weighted average exposure. All the pesticides are now applied on the ground. Thus, another objective of this project is to conduct a leaching study under controlled laboratory conditions in order to investigate the transport of those compounds through the soil-water interface. The data generated from this portion of the project will be used to predict pesticide behavior under selected environmental conditions. Together, with the POCIS sampling protocols, and time weighted aquatic concentrations, environmental stakeholders will have tools for assessing the potential exposure of aquatic organisms to pesticides in the watersheds with commercial blueberry production.