Sampling of Private Wells for Pesticides, Upstate NY Presentation to the NYS DEC Bureau of Pesticides Management Feb. 24, 2009 Tammo Steenhuis, Brian Richards & Steve Pacenka Soil & Water Group Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering

Research project being conducted for the DEC Bureau of Pesticides Management Luanne Whitbeck, Project Manager Sam Jackling, Section Chief - Product Registration Maureen Serafini, Bureau Head Additional Cornell personnel: Tammo Steenhuis (PD), Todd Walter (co-PI)‏ Water Resources Institute – Susan Riha

Project impetus To answer the question: “What about upstate?” more specifically: “Are product registration reviews and subsequent application practices adequate to protect upstate groundwater?”

Project goal To assess current potential for groundwater contamination by examining well water in vulnerable sites Well water in vulnerable areas testing at safe levels is presumptive evidence that groundwater is also safe elsewhere. Well water in vulnerable areas testing at safe levels is presumptive evidence that groundwater is also safe elsewhere.

Objectives today Update on findings and status Where next?

Atrazine Statewide from PSUR

All Active Ingredients Added

All Actives in NYC Metro

Process Discuss with SWCD and others in county Identify counties of interest Sample; analyze at DEC & Cornell BEE labs Interpret Recruit land owners

County Partners through 2008 Schenectady Orange Cayuga Cortland Genesee

County chosen based on chemical properties & sales+use Extensive carbonate aquifer conditions County Health Department involvement Genesee Well selection includes aerial assessments of site vulnerability Immunoassays based on chemical properties & sales+use Cayuga Much faster DEC lab turnaround County did sampling in view of distance & contacts Multiple immunoassays based on pesticide sales+use Significant farming other than dairy Orange Chosen based on groundwater use and pesticide sales+use Much improved DEC lab detection limits Schenectady Local cooperation and well selection approach developed Developed BEE lab and modeling approach Cortland Refinements in Successive Counties

1. Cortland: mixed urban and rural rehearsal

2. Schenectady: lots of ground water use, but most on public supply

3. Black dirt area of Orange uses pesticides intensely

4. Cayuga: continuous farming between big fingers

Genesee is flat and farmed

Well Selection Three approaches used for locating potential sampling sites Three approaches used for locating potential sampling sites 1) Local knowledge 1) Local knowledge -local experts & -local experts & experience experience (nitrate issues)‏ (nitrate issues)‏ -existing maps & -existing maps & databases databases -local scouting -local scouting (drive by and now “fly-over”)‏ (drive by and now “fly-over”)‏

2) Modeling produces maps of relative vulnerability for pesticide transport based on soil properties... not a prediction of actual water concentrations

Landowner Recruitment once potential sites are identified: In cooperation with SWCD Voluntary participation Free to landowner Confidential - DEC only sees ID code - DEC only sees ID code - no specific reporting - no specific reporting of identity or location

Tony in Orange County

Many wells near farms

Sample before treatment...

Testing for pesticide & herbicide active DEC Pesticide Lab (Pete Furdyna). Selected active ingredients using higher resolution immunoassay Cornell Soil & Water Group lab. Cornell Soil & Water Group lab.

And finding... DEC lab: no detectable amount of any active ingredient in first 120 samples (Cortland, Schenectady, Orange Counties) –Detection limits are ~ 1 ug/L (1 ppb) or less Nitrates typical for rural NY, a few values above 5 mg/L

more findings... Immunoassays Cortland and Schenectady: traces below quantitation limits Immunoassays Orange and Cayuga: a few detects at 0.1 to 0.3 ppb; more traces below 0.1 ppb, still mostly non-detects All far below drinking water or environmental standards. GOOD NEWS FOR RURAL WATER CONSUMERS.

BEE lab details (well counts)‏ CortlandSchen'OrangeCayuga Nitrate-N>10 mg/L < interference0006 Metolachlordetect0 trace <0.1 ug/L5 n.d. <0.135 Atrazinedetect trace < n.d. < Alachlordetect trace <0.11 n.d. <0.138 Diazinondetect trace < n.d. < Imidaclopriddetect0 trace <0.21 n.d. <0.239

Looking at Worse Cases: Mobility, Persistence, Geological Vulnerability Ground-Water Ubiquity Score Carbonate aquifers

GUS = log10 (half-life) x [4 - log10 (Koc)]

GUS Scale Low High Very Low Medium Very High * Imazethapyr * Carbofuran * Atrazine * Alachlor * Chlorothalonil * Glyphosate

GUS-Weighted Sales+Use

Popular Pesticides Orange County (kg/yr a.i., )‏ NameSalesUseS+UGUS MANCOZEB21, , CHLOROTHALONIL7,6001,8009, CHLORPYRIFOS7, , COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE1007,7007,800- PENDIMETHALIN5, , MANEB6, , ALIPHATIC PETROLEUM..2,6003,2005,800- ACETAMIDE, 2-CHLORO-N , ,100- AATRAM, COMPONENT OF (WITH3,50003,500- CAPTAN3,40003, METOLACHLOR2, , DITHANE (MANCOZEB) M-45..2,90002,900- ATRAZINE1,6001,0002, ZINC ION AND MANGANESE...1,90002,000- OXAMYL2,00002, KARATE1001,9002,000 IPRODIONE1, , DIMETHYLAMINE 2,4-DICHLO ,1001,800- SULFUR1,80001,800- GLYPHOSATE-ISOPROPYLAMMON ,700- DIAZINON1, ,7001.6

Popular Pesticides Orange County NameSalesUseS+UGUS MANCOZEB21, , CHLOROTHALONIL7,6001,8009, CHLORPYRIFOS7, , COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE1007,7007,800- PENDIMETHALIN5, , MANEB6, , ALIPHATIC PETROLEUM..2,6003,2005,800- ACETAMIDE, 2-CHLORO-N , ,100- AATRAM, COMPONENT OF (WITH3,50003,500- CAPTAN3,40003, METOLACHLOR2, , DITHANE (MANCOZEB) M-45..2,90002,900- ATRAZINE1,6001,0002, ZINC ION AND MANGANESE...1,90002,000- OXAMYL2,00002, KARATE1001,9002,000 IPRODIONE1, , DIMETHYLAMINE 2,4-DICHLO ,1001,800- SULFUR1,80001,800- GLYPHOSATE-ISOPROPYLAMMON ,700- DIAZINON1, ,7001.6

Vulnerability: Carbonate

Carbonate in Cross Section Source: USGS national ground water atlas

Western NY Carbonate + GUS

Carbonate aquifer uppermost Targeting Wells: Cayuga Sites and Carbonate

Genesee Carbonate + GUS

Where Next? A sixth year is in our contract. Default place: Another western NY county, where GUS-weighted pesticide use leads us?

Contacts Tammo Steenhuis Brian Richards Steve Pacenka

Thanks Keith Porter and Susan Riha NYS WRI directors, who delegated to BEE Cortland, Schenectady, Orange, Cayuga, and Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation Districts: local partners Cornell Pesticide Management Education Program for help using the PSUR database NYS Soil & Water Conservation Committee for early endorsement Cornell students Ian Toevs, Tony Salvucci, Ben Liu, Sophia Garcia, Mike Sinkevich, Ivy Tsoi, Zia Ahmed, Karah Speidel