Protecting water quality in Illinois : nutrient and pesticide management strategies

66 Pages·1991·2.5 MB·English

by  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Cooperative Extension Service

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These nnaterials were developed by Susan
Brewer, Foods and Nutrition Specialist,
Illinois Cooperative Extension Service. If
Urbana, Illinois April 1992 you have questions, please call 217-333-
Issued in furtherance ofCooperative 0520.
Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Editor: Tom McGeary
Department of Agriculture, DONALD L. Graphic designer: Lynn H. Smith
UCHTMANN, Director, Cooperative
Extension Service, University of Illinois The Illinois Cooperative Extension Ser-
at Urbana-Champaign. vice provides equal opportunities in pro-
grams and employment.
2.5M—Crouse^-92—TM
UNIVEJ^SITY OF ILLINOIS ^
AGRICULTURE LIBRARY
Water
Protecting Quality
in Illinois
Nutrient and Pesticide Management Strategies
United States Department ofAgriculture,
Cooperative Extension Service, Champaign, Illinois
In cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service
June, 1991
MbrtiGULTURE LIBRARY
C1315
bLP 1 8 1991
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Issued infutheranceofCooperativeExtensionWork,ActsofMay8andJune30,1914,incooperationwith theSoil
Conservation Service. Donald L. Uchtmann, Director,CooperativeExtensionService, UniversityofIllinoisat Urbana-
Champaign. TheIllinoisCooperative ExtensionServiceandtheSoilConservationServiceprovideequalopportunities
in programs andemployment.
Water
Protecting Quality in Illinois:
Nutrient and Pesticide
Management
Strategies
Contributing Authors
D. E. Kuhlman, ProgramLeaderforEnvironmental Issues, Cooperative Extension Service (editor)
T. J. Bicki, AssistantProfessor, Pedology Extension, DepartmentofAgronomy
L. V. Boone, Agronomist, Soil Fertility, DepartmentofAgronomy
A. S. Felsot, Professional Scientist,CenterforEconomic Entomology,
Illinois Natural History Survey
R. G. Hoeft, Professor, Soil Fertility Extension,DepartmentofAgronomy
J. W, Scott,WaterQuality Coordinator, Soil ConservationService, USDA
F. W. Simmons, AssistantProfessor, Soil andWaterManagement, DepartmentofAgronomy
Reviewers
Thanks to the following people who contributed suggestions, assistance, andreview forthe development
ofthis publication:
D. P. McKenna, AssociateProfessional Scientist, Illinois StateGeological Survey
M. D. McGlamery, ProfessorofAgronomy, DepartmentofAgronomy
D. R. Pike, Extension SpecialistinWeed Science, DepartmentofAgronomy
E. L. Knake, ProfessorofAgronomy, DepartmentofAgronomy
K. L. Steffey, AssociateProfessor, Office ofAgricultural Entomology
United States DepartmentofAgriculture, Cooperative ExtensionService
UniversityofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign
Incooperation withthe Soil Conservation Service
June, 1991
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Chemical andPhysical Properties ofSoils 5
Chapters Potential Sources ofWaterPollution 9
Chapter4 Chemical PropertiesofFertilizers 13
Chapters PesticideProperties 17
Chapter6 Soil-Pesticide Interactions 21
Chapter? GroundwaterandAquiferContaminationVulnerability inIllinois 25
Chapters ManagementOptions to PreventWaterQuality Degradationfrom Nutrients 31
Chapter9 ManagementOptions toPreventWaterQuality DegradationfromPesticides 35
Appendix Pesticide Properties and Potential forMovement 41
SuggestedReadings 47
Glossary 49
Chapter
1
Introduction
Illinois is rich in surface water, with ap- large numberofabove-ground storage and dis-
proximately 900 interior streams and 85,305 man- posal sites such as petroleum storage areas,
made and natural inland lakes and ponds. agriculturalchemical operations, saltpiles, and
However, more than 34 percentofthe lakes have landfills. In addition, groundwater is at shallow
shown a definite decline in waterquality between depths throughout muchofIllinois.
1972 and today. The decline is ofconcernbe- )»CBBQ0BflBQ0QOOO»0QOWOBBOO0WOPQQ0QPOOWWOOWWWQOggQQQOOPQ»
cause these surface waters are used as a source of
Illinois'Rich WaterResources
drinking water by many Illinois communities.
The waterquality problems also limitrecreation Illinois hasawidevariety of surfacewater
and shorten the life spanofthe lakes. rIlelsinoouirsciensc.luRdeivaertsotaalndofs1t4r,e0a8m0sriinvearnmdilbeosr.deTrhineg
Surface waters (lakes and streams) are more state is bordered bythree majorrivers:the Mis-
sissippitothe west andthe Ohio andWabashto
impairedby agricultural activities, hydrologic/ the southeast. These rivers constitute 880 bor-
habitatmodification, andpoint sources thanis der river miles. Theother large rivers include
groundwater. These activities contribute to sedi- the Rock, Fox, Des Plaines, Kankakee, Illinois,
Sangamon, Kaskaskia, and Big Muddy.
ment and nutrientloads, suspended solids, pes-
Streams rangefrom high gradientbrooksto
ticides, organic enrichment, andovergrowthof cypress-lined lowland backwaters. The Missis-
aquatic plants. Lakes also inherently function as sippi, Illinois, Ohio, and Kaskaskia Rivers are
traps orsinks forpollutants fromtributary water- equipped with locks, dams, and maintained
channelstoserve as importanttransportation
sheds or drainage basins. routes. Approximately 75 percentof Illinois in-
Whileoverall statewide groundwaterquality land lakes are man-made impoundments, includ-
ing reservoirs ranging upto26,000 acres in
has been assessed as being good, pastand present surface area, dammed stream and sidechannel
activitieshavecontributedto groundwatercon- impoundments, and stripmine, borrowpit, and
tamination in Illinois. Studies have shown that 12 excavated lakes.
percentofprivate rural wells inIllinois have looeoeoeooeooeoeooow
nitrate-nitrogenlevelsexceeding the drinking
waterstandards often parts ofnitrate-nitrogenper Pesticides andplantnutrients areused exten-
millionparts ofwater (10 ppm), and 45 parts of sively by Illinois farmers. Herbicides are applied
nitrate per million parts ofwater (45 ppm). In ad- to anestimated 97 percentofthe com and 96per-
dition, 25 percentofthe wells have bacterial cent ofthe soybean acreage. Approximately 2 of
contamination problems. Approximately 12 per- every 3 acres ofland inrural areas ofthe state are
centofthe population in Illinois depend on these treated withpesticides.
private rural wells for theirdomestic watersupp- As aresultofthe widespread use ofpesticides
ly. An estimated 49 percent ofthe total popula- and fertilizers, Illinois faces thecontinuingdanger
tion use groundwater in theirhouseholds. ofincreasing contamination ofsurface water and
Many activities, past and present, contribute to groundwaterthatisused widely by humans.
groundwater contamination in Illinois. Major
sourcesofidentifiedcontamination include leak-
ing underground gasoline storage tanks and the
Page
1
.
Chapter 1
Government Regulations
and Policy The WaterQualityProgram Plan
The President's initiative in his 1990budget
The Federal governmenthas several laws p1r9o8p9o,sdaelfipnreesseantveidgotroouCsonefgfroertsstoopnroFteebctrugarroyun9,d
designed, atleast in part, to control pollutionof and surface waterfromcontamination by non-
waterresources. Through the Federal WaterPol- pointsources. The USDA has implemented a
lutionControl Amendmentsof 1972, commonly WPraetseirdeQnuta'lsitiynitPiratoigver,acmonPtlaainniinngstuhprpeoertcoofm-the
known as the CleanWaterAct (CWA), Congress ponents: Education and TechnicalAssistance,
established a national strategy toreduce waterpol- Research and Development, and Data Base
Developmentand Evaluation.
lution. The objective ofthe law was to restore
and maintainthe chemical, physical, andbiologi- NWWOeOOOO0O«MeDeeOOOe99OOQOQOQQQWOe9eO«QQOQOQOM
cal integrity ofthe nation's waterand to eventual-
Integrated Pest
ly eliminate the discharge ofpollutants altogether.
Management
The CleanWaterActestablishes three categories
ofpollutionsources: pointsources, non-point
sources, and dredge and fill operations. Theprin- Although the use ofpesticides has become a
CWA
cipal regulatory programsofthe focuson standardpractice forreducing pestpopulations,
surface waterquality. problems sometimes arise whenthey are used as
InSeptember, 1987,GovernorThompson the sole method ofcontrolling pests. The primary
signed legislationforprotectionofIllinois concern is thedetectionoftrace levels ofpes-
groundwater from contamination. The Illinois ticides insome groundwater and surface water
GroundwaterProtectionAct(P.A. 85-0863) resources. While the potential for pesticides to be-
responds to the needtomanage groundwater come pollutants does notmeanthat they should
quality through a prevention-orientedprocess. Al- notbe used, itdoesrequire thattheiruse be care-
though the Actis directed toward protectionof fullycontrolled toeliminateunnecessarypesticide
groundwater as anatural and public resource, spe- applications.
cial provisions targetdrinkingwaterwells. The useofIntegratedPestManagement (IPM)
Then, in 1990, PresidentBushrecommended tactics canreduce the amountofpesticides that
inhis budgetproposal a new initiative forenhanc- are applied to cropland, helping to protectwater
ing waterquality thatfocusesonprotecting quality and maximize profit. IPM emphasizes
groundand surface waterfrompotential con- natural pestcontrols and taking advantageofthe
taminationby agricultural chemicals and wastes, weaklinks in life cycles ofpests. Pesticides can
especially pesticides and nutrients. The plan in- be used inIPM, but only aftersystematic monitor-
tegratedthe combined expertise ofUSDA agen- ingofpests and considerationofotherfactors has
cies to promote the use ofenvironmentally and indicated a need.
economically soundfarmproductionpractices The following tactics are examples ofcom-
andto develop improvedchemical andbiological ponents ofa successful IPMprogram:
pestcontrols.
1 use ofresistantcrop varieties,
Inhis statementofprinciples and policies, the
2. croprotation,
Presidentmade itclearthatfarmers are ultimately
responsible foravoidingcontaminationofwater 3. proper fertilization,
resulting from managementpractices they apply 4. biological control,
to the land. One ofhis principles states that water 5. variation ofplanting orharvestdates,
quality programs mustaccommodate the immedi-
6. changing tillage practices,
ate need tohaltcontamination.
7. field scouting forpests.
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