Surface-Water Monitoring for 

Pesticides in Wyoming 

| Introduction | Approach | Results | Products | Contacts | 

Introduction

Approach

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Wyoming Water Science Center

Prepared in cooperation with 

the

Wyoming Department of Agriculture 

(WDA)

In 2006, the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), in cooperation 

with the Wyoming Department of 

Agriculture, conducted a one-year 

surface-water sampling project at 

two sites in the North Platte Basin 

and three sites in the Big Horn 

Basin. The purpose of the study 

was to determine the occurrence 

of pesticides in the basins and 

evaluate the seasonality of any 

pesticide detections. 

 Bighorn River at Basin, Wyoming 

Three synoptic sample events 

were conducted during March, 

May, and September, 2006. 

The sample events 

corresponded with preapplication of pesticides, postSurface-Water Monitoring for Pesticides in Wyoming Page 1 of 3

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application of pesticides, and 

the end of the growing 

season. The analytical 

methods used determined the 

presence and concentration of 

125 different pesticides. In 

addition to pesticide analyses, 

temperature, pH, specific 

conductance, dissolved 

oxygen, and discharge were 

measured at each site. 

Results

z Samples collected from all 

five sites and all three 

sampling dates contained 

pesticides. 

z The most commonly 

detected pesticide in the 

Bighorn River Basin was 

MCPA (trade names 

Solve1 and MCP1). 

z The most commonly 

detected pesticide in the 

North Platte Basin was 

atrazine (trade name 

AAtrex1). 

z Atrazine was detected in 

all samples collected in 

the Big Horn Basin. 

z In the two river basins, 

additional pesticides (with 

trade name1 in italics) 

detected include: 

z aldicarb (Temik) 

degradation product 

z atrazine (Aatrex) 

degradation products 

z bentazon (Bentzone) 

z bromoxynil (Buctril) 

z carbofuran (Furadan) 

z cycloate (Ro-Neet) 

Map of study area (click on image for a larger 

version, 162 kb). 

Products 

All data were published in the 2006 USGS 

Water Data Report for Wyoming in early 2007, 

in addition to being available on the USGS 

NWIS-Web site 

(http://wwwnwis.er.usgs.gov/index.html). A 

fact sheet describing the results is now 

available. 

 

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For more information, contact:

Cheryl Eddy Miller 

USGS Project Manager 

2617 E. Lincolnway, Suite B 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001 

(307) 775-9167 

Email: cemiller@usgs.gov

Roy Reichenbach 

Wyoming Department of Agriculture 

2219 Carey Avenue 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 

(307) 777-7324 

Funding for the project was provided by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Wyoming Water Science Center 

z 2,4-D 

z EPTC (Eptam) 

z MCPA (Solve) 

z hexazinone (Velpar) 

z metolachlor (Dual) 

z metribuzin (Sencor) 

z prometon (Pramitol) 

z simazine (Princep) 

z trifluralin (Treflan) 

1The use of trade, product, 

industry, or firm names is for 

descriptive purposes only and 

does not imply endorsement 

by the U.S. Government 

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey

URL: http://wy.water.usgs.gov/projects/pesticide/index.htm 

Page Contact Information: Wyoming Webmaster

Page Last Modified: April 10, 2007 

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