How is the Assessment Process for Groundwater Contamination from Pesticides Used for BMP Selection?
In the field, natural conditions of climate, soil, and geology play a dominant role in determining pesticide degradation and movement. This is unlike the farmstead, where pesticide contamination of groundwater is more closely related to handling activities and the farm well. The selection process for field best management practicies (BMPs) that protect groundwater must consider the most important environmental conditions. For this reason, a system was designed to assess those factors most likely to affect pesticide fate and BMP selection in North Dakota. NDSU Extension Bulletin EB-63, “An Assessment System for Potential Groundwater Contamination from Agricultural Pesticide Use in North Dakota,” explains in detail how to account for these factors. The assessment process helps to organize natural resource information into categories of groundwater sensitivity that should have similar contamination potential and management requirements. Priority areas and the most appropriate management m
