The watershed upstream of this weir is primarily row cropped in corn using no-till techniques. The weir is located in a central drainage channel which carries surface and near-surface water from a large watershed to Clear Creek. During the months of May and June of 1997 data regarding the quantity and quality over water flowing over this weir were collected. The water samples were analyzed for the triazine content using a laboratory practice known as immunoassays, a protein based process. A sample of this data is provided in Table 1 below.
Triazines are a class of herbicides which are used to control weed competition in corn.
This class of herbicides is effective in part because of the persistence of these compounds in the environment. It is common for surface waters to be collected in a reservoir as a source of drinking water, as is the case in Shelby County. Triazines are used extensively in the Midwestern U.S. when producing corn. The widespread use of triazines coupled with the slow degradation of these chemical compounds once introduced to the environment is causing concern among regulatory agencies and the general populous. Example data for Weir 3 in Shelby County, Kentucky.