Pesticides are pervasive in both our surface water and groundwater, new studies show.
With awareness growing about the effects of pesticides on human health and the environment, the Council has begun a campaign to help make Iowa's waters safe from pesticide contamination. A significant part of the project will be to identify and analyze existing and newly emerging pesticide information. The study evaluates existing data from a number of studies conducted in Iowa between 1980 and 1995. Pesticides were found in 78 percent of surface water samples and 26 percent of groundwater samples. In another study, the USGS collected water samples from 12 streams in eastern Iowa.