National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project
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Estimation Methods:
Beginning 2015, the provider of the surveyed pesticide data used to derive the county-level use estimates discontinued making estimates for seed treatment application of pesticides because of complexity and uncertainty. Pesticide use estimates prior to 2015 include estimates with seed treatment application.
The USGS agricultural pesticide use estimates are supported by funding from the USGS National Water Quality Program for the purpose of better understanding pesticides in freshwater and their impact on water availability nationwide. In 2019, the National Water Quality Program pesticide monitoring was rescoped, and pesticides with use estimates were aligned as closely as possible to the new list of monitored compounds. This change resulted in a reduction in the number of compounds with monitoring and use data. The USGS will continue to publish annual, county-level agricultural pesticide use estimates. The pesticide use estimates for 2018-22 will be published in late 2024. New, final pesticide use estimates will then be published on a 5-year cycle, which aligns with the release of the USDA Census of Agriculture. After 2024, the next estimates will be published in 2029 and will estimate agricultural pesticide use for 2023-27. Preliminary estimates will no longer be published annually and later updated with final estimates.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Page Contact Information: gs-w_nawqa_whq@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified: June 14 2023 12:50:21.
