Our Water Nerds get lots of questions about
pesticides contaminating drinking water, so
we put together a quick video that answers
the FIVE most frequently asked questions.
Q1 Which Pesticides Are Most Commonly Found
In US Water Systems?
The most comprehensive information available
about pesticides at the national level is
part of a 10-year program by the National
Water-Quality Assessment.
The study found that pesticides are in both
streams and groundwater throughout the US,
in both urban and rural areas, but rarely
at concentrations that will affect human health.
Pesticides were found 90% of the time in streams.
Groundwater sources were less affected by
pesticide contamination, with shallow groundwater
sources in agricultural and urban areas having
pesticides 61% and 55% of the time respectively.
These include both agricultural and non-agricultural
herbicides.
Q2 Do I Need to Be Worried About Adverse Health
Effects?
Despite the widespread presence of pesticides
in water systems, levels of pesticides only
exceeded human health benchmarks in about
5-10% of systems studied.
As for groundwater, only 1% of wells sampled
had pesticide levels above human health benchmarks.
Q3 How Is Pesticide Contamination Regulated?
The EPA regulates pesticides nationally under
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide
Act to protect human health and the environment.
Aside from the 141 banned and severely restricted
pesticides, EPA has set limits on the allowable
amount of pesticides in food and drinking
water.
EPA has also established 394 human health
benchmarks for pesticides that are registered
for use on food crops but are not regulated
under the national primary drinking water
standards.
Q4 How Do I Find Out If My Drinking Water
Is Contaminated With Pesticides?
If you’re concerned about pesticide contaminants
in your drinking water and are served by a
public water system, your local water supplier
is required to issue a Consumer Confidence
Report that lists contaminant levels in the
water supply.
If you have a private well, an accredited
third party laboratory can test your drinking
water.
Although the EPA regulates many pesticides
as drinking water contaminants, there are
many that are not.
Additionally, levels of pesticide contamination
can vary widely depending on the agricultural
season and pesticides can be used in water
systems to control pests like mosquitos.
If you get your water from a household well,
the local health department should have information
about ground water quality and contaminants
of concern, but it is a good idea to have
your water tested by a certified laboratory
for contaminants.
The EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline can
provide additional resources in your local
area.
It is also important to consider the proper
use of pesticides at home if you have a private
well, because pesticide runoff can contribute
to well contamination.
Q5 How Do I Remove Pesticides From Drinking
Water?
A point-of-use water filtration system that
is designed & tested to remove pesticides
is the only way to remove these chemicals
from your water.
Contrary to what some people tell you, boiling
or freezing water does NOT remove pesticides
from drinking water!
If you have any questions about removing pesticides
from your home’s water, please drop us an
email at hello@hydroviv.com or visit hydroviv.com
and use our live chat.
Our water nerds will help you make sense of
the complexities surrounding your home’s
water.
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