1. 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

2. 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

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

4. 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.

5. Objectives today Update on findings and status Where next?

6. Atrazine Statewide from PSUR

7. All Active Ingredients Added

8. All Actives in NYC Metro

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

10. County Partners through 2008 Schenectady Orange Cayuga Cortland Genesee

11. 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

12. 1. Cortland: mixed urban and rural rehearsal

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

14. 3. Black dirt area of Orange uses pesticides intensely

15. 4. Cayuga: continuous farming between big fingers

16. Genesee is flat and farmed

17. 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”)‏

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

19. 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

20. Tony in Orange County

21. Many wells near farms

22. Sample before treatment...

23. Testing for... 93 pesticide & herbicide active ingredients; @ DEC Pesticide Lab (Pete Furdyna). Selected active ingredients using higher resolution immunoassay methods @ Cornell Soil & Water Group lab. Nitrate @ Cornell Soil & Water Group lab.

24. 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

25. 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.

26. BEE lab details (well counts)‏ CortlandSchen'OrangeCayuga Nitrate-N>10 mg/L3000 6-108013 1-51871313 <111332618 interference0006 Metolachlordetect0 trace <0.1 ug/L5 n.d. <0.135 Atrazinedetect 0.1 - 0.3032 trace <0.12015 n.d. <0.1203633 Alachlordetect 0.1 - 0.31 trace <0.11 n.d. <0.138 Diazinondetect 0.03 - 0.061 trace < 0.030 n.d. < 0.0339 Imidaclopriddetect0 trace <0.21 n.d. <0.239

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

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

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

30. GUS-Weighted Sales+Use

31. Popular Pesticides Orange County (kg/yr a.i., 2000-2005)‏ NameSalesUseS+UGUS MANCOZEB21,00030021,2001.3 CHLOROTHALONIL7,6001,8009,4001.3 CHLORPYRIFOS7,9001008,0000.3 COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE1007,7007,800- PENDIMETHALIN5,6008006,3000.6 MANEB6,1002006,2001.3 ALIPHATIC PETROLEUM..2,6003,2005,800- ACETAMIDE, 2-CHLORO-N-.....4,0002004,100- AATRAM, COMPONENT OF (WITH3,50003,500- CAPTAN3,40003,4000.7 METOLACHLOR2,3009003,1003.3 DITHANE (MANCOZEB) M-45..2,90002,900- ATRAZINE1,6001,0002,7003.6 ZINC ION AND MANGANESE...1,90002,000- OXAMYL2,00002,0001.6 KARATE1001,9002,000 IPRODIONE1,6003001,9001.3 DIMETHYLAMINE 2,4-DICHLO...7001,1001,800- SULFUR1,80001,800- GLYPHOSATE-ISOPROPYLAMMON..7009001,700- DIAZINON1,1006001,7001.6

32. Popular Pesticides Orange County NameSalesUseS+UGUS MANCOZEB21,00030021,2001.3 CHLOROTHALONIL7,6001,8009,4001.3 CHLORPYRIFOS7,9001008,0000.3 COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE1007,7007,800- PENDIMETHALIN5,6008006,3000.6 MANEB6,1002006,2001.3 ALIPHATIC PETROLEUM..2,6003,2005,800- ACETAMIDE, 2-CHLORO-N-.....4,0002004,100- AATRAM, COMPONENT OF (WITH3,50003,500- CAPTAN3,40003,4000.7 METOLACHLOR2,3009003,1003.3 DITHANE (MANCOZEB) M-45..2,90002,900- ATRAZINE1,6001,0002,7003.6 ZINC ION AND MANGANESE...1,90002,000- OXAMYL2,00002,0001.6 KARATE1001,9002,000 IPRODIONE1,6003001,9001.3 DIMETHYLAMINE 2,4-DICHLO...7001,1001,800- SULFUR1,80001,800- GLYPHOSATE-ISOPROPYLAMMON..7009001,700- DIAZINON1,1006001,7001.6

33. Vulnerability: Carbonate

34. Carbonate in Cross Section Source: USGS national ground water atlas

35. Western NY Carbonate + GUS

36. Carbonate aquifer uppermost Targeting Wells: Cayuga Sites and Carbonate

37. Genesee Carbonate + GUS

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

39. Contacts Tammo Steenhuis (tss1@cornell.edu)‏ Brian Richards (bkr2@cornell.edu)‏ Steve Pacenka (sp17@cornell.edu)‏

40. 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