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Agricultural Chemicals and Ground Water Quality ‐ Issues and Challenges
Author(s) -
Bouwer Herman
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
groundwater monitoring and remediation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-6592
pISSN - 1069-3629
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6592.1990.tb00324.x
Subject(s) - agriculture , groundwater , legislation , environmental planning , work (physics) , water quality , business , environmental science , environmental resource management , engineering , geography , political science , mechanical engineering , ecology , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , law , biology
Anthropogenic agricultural chemicals of concern in ground water include nitrate and pesticides. Increased legislation and regulation of contaminant levels in ground water can be expected. Ground water contamination should be prevented from getting worse, but more research is necessary so as to base regulations on sound criteria. Health effects and acceptable risks must be better formulated. More research on chemical movement in the vadose zone is necessary for accurate predictive modeling of pesticide transport to ground water. Best management practices need to be developed so that farmers will be able to farm profitably while complying with regulations for maximum contaminant levels in underlying ground water. People from all concerned disciplines, citizens’groups, and policy‐makers need to work together to develop realistic regulatory policies and management practices that will effectively protect public health while ensuring a viable and sustainable agriculture.