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| Titel |
Assesment of pesticide fluxes to surface water using Uranine in Colombia |
| VerfasserIn |
G. García-Santos, D. Scheiben, J. Díaz, F. Leuenberger, C. R. Binder |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2009
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 11 (2009) |
| Datensatznummer |
250024534
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| Zusammenfassung |
| In the highlands of Colombia, potato farmers maximize their yields by the application of
pesticides. Properly applied pesticides can significantly reduce yield loss and improve
product quality; however their misuse leads to human health and environmental problems, i.e.
water bodies contaminated with pesticides. Due to the lack of control regarding local
pesticide use, unmeasured hydrological parameters and use of local water runoff as a drinking
water supply, an assessment of the impact of agricultural practice on water quality is
mandatory as first stage. In order to accomplish this, our study assesses pesticide fluxes to
surface water using the tracer Uranine.
The experimental area La Hoya main basin (3 km2) contains the Pantano Verde river
which flows into the Teatinos river in the Boyaca region (Colombia). Some facts such as the
deep soils in the area and the importance of the unsaturated zone for the sorption and
degradation of pesticides suggest a lack of contaminants in groundwater. However, due to the
humid conditions, steep slopes and an intensive agricultural with high pesticide use, we
expect surface water to be highly contaminated. In order to assess pesticide pathways, a tracer
(Uranine), detectable at very low amount was used. Four local farmers applied the
tracer instead of the pesticide mixture covering a total surface of 1.2 10-2 km2.
Meteorological data were measured every 15 min with one compact meteorological
station installed within the basin and water flow and water sampling were obtained
using an ISCO-6700 water sampler, during one week every 10 min in the outlet of
Pantano Verde River. In addition, three pairs of membranes were installed down
the river and collected 1 week, one month and 4 months after the experiment to
measure tracer accumulation. The tracer in water was analysed using a fluorescent
spectrometer. Results of this study show first variations of tracer concentration in
water in La Hoya basin and constitute an initial steep in assessing the impact of
agricultural practices in the local water quality under the influence of pesticides. |
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