Analysis of Pesticides and Other Synthetic Compounds Completed for Upper Illinois River Basin

Report on the Analysis of Pesticides and Other Synthetic Compounds for the Upper Illinois River Basin Released by the USGS

The distribution of pesticides and other synthetic organic compounds in water, sediment, and biota in the upper Illinois River Basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin was examined from 1987 through 1990 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Data collection and analysis completed during the study have been compiled in a recently published report.

The report is a product of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The upper Illinois River Basin assessment was one of seven pilot studies for the national program. At its full-scale implementation, the NAWQA Program will study the surface- and ground- water quality in 60 study units comprising 60 to 70 percent of the Nation's water use. One of the initial work elements in each study unit is compilation and analysis of the available water-quality information for that study area. Results from these compilations are used to guide further data collection and research in each study unit.

Results from pesticide sampling in 1988-89 identified several agricultural pesticides that were detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in surface water from urban areas than in agricultural areas. Results from sampling for semivolatile and volatile organic compounds in surface water indicate that, with one exception, all stations at which more than one compound was detected were within 2 miles downstream from the nearest point source. Detections at two stations in the Chicago urban area accounted for 37 percent of the total number of detections of these compounds in the entire upper Illinois River Basin.

Numerous exceedances of National Academy of Sciences standards for protection of predators on fish were observed in the basin in 1989-90. Higher concentrations of insoluble synthetic organic compounds are usually detected in fish than in sediment because of bioaccumulation.

The report, titled "Surface-Water-Quality Assessment of the Upper Illinois River Basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin: Pesticides and Other Synthetic Organic Compounds in Water, Sediment, and Biota, 1978-90", by Daniel J. Sullivan, Troy W. Stinson, J. Kent Crawford, and Arthur R. Schmidt, is published as U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4135. Copies are available for inspection at the U.S. Geological Survey, 221 N. Broadway, Urbana, Ill., and at large public and university libraries nationwide. Paper and microfiche copies can be purchased at cost from the U.S. Geological Survey-ESIC, Open-File Reports Section, Box 25286, MS 517, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO, 80225-0046 (phone number is (303) 236-7476). Orders must include check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of the Interior- U.S. Geological Survey and must specify report number 96-4135.