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PROJECT National Program: Water Surveillance (Pesticide Science Fund)
This project aims to determine whether pesticides are present, as well as the fluctuations in their concentrations in the St. Lawrence River at Lévis, Trois-Rivières and the mouths of rural tributaries such as the Nicolet, Yamaska and Saint-François rivers.
Sampling stations on the St. Lawrence River serve to assess the level of water contamination in the river by registering seasonal and interannual fluctuations as well as long-term trends in contaminant concentrations. The Environment Canada team of research scientists and its partners can thus ensure that water quality is monitored to determine whether it is improving or deteriorating. See Monitorinq Water Quality. Through this project, the Environment Canada research scientists are studying the presence and fate of pesticides in the water in order to improve our knowledge of these substances and contribute to a national water quality monitoring program. |
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Sampling frequency depends on the flow rate of the tributaries and on the period of pesticide application on agricultural fields in the watershed. As a result, the Nicolet, Yamaska and Saint-François rivers are sampled once a week from May to August. Water sampling in the river takes place twice a month between May and August and once a month between September and February.
Pesticides are selected for analysis based on two principles: the intensity of their use in the watershed and their conformity with the sampling network already operated by the MENV. Following is the list of substances analysed by the Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec (CEAEQ) for this project: Atrazine, azinphos-methyl, bentazon, bromoxynil, butylate, carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorfenvinphos, chlorothalonil, chloroxuron, chlorpyrifos, clopyralid, cyanazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine 2,4-D, 2,4-DB, 2,4-DP (dichlorprop), diazinon, dicamba, dichlorvos, dimethenamid, dimethoate, disulfoton, diuron, EPTC, fonofos, linuron, malathion, MCPA, MCPB, mecoprop, methidathion, methyl parathion, metolachlor, metribuzin, mevinphos, myclobutanil, parathion, phorate, phosalone, phosmet, simazine, tebuthiuron, terbufos, triclopyr, trifluralin.
Partners Water sampling is conducted jointly with the Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec (MENV), while the analyses are carried out by the CEAEQ.
Cossa, D., T. T. Pham, B. Rondeau, S. Proulx, C. Surette, and B. Quémerais. 1998. Tracking Contaminants in the St. Lawrence River: Summary of the Mass Balance Study of Contaminants in the St. Lawrence River. Environment Canada – Quebec Region, Environmental Conservation, St. Lawrence Centre. Pham, T.-T., B. Rondeau, H. Sabik, S. Proulx, and D. Cossa. 2000. Lake Ontario: The predominant source of triazine herbicides in the St. Lawrence River. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57: 78–85. Quémerais, B., D. Cossa, B. Rondeau, T.-T. Pham, P. Gagnon, and B. Fortin. 1999. Sources and fluxes of mercury in the St. Lawrence River. Environmental Science and Technology 33: 840–849. Rondeau, B. 2002. Water Quality in the Fluvial Section: Contamination by Toxic Substances. Fact sheet in the series "Monitoring the State of the St. Lawrence River". Environment Canada – Quebec Region, Environmental Conservation, St. Lawrence Centre. Rondeau, B., D. Cossa, P. Gagnon, and L. Bilodeau. 2000. Budget and sources of suspended sediment transported in the St. Lawrence River, Canada. Hydrological Processes 14: 21–36.
Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec (CEAEQ) Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec St. Lawrence Info Lake Ontario: The Main Source of Herbicides in the St. Lawrence River Projects Impact of Agricultural Pesticides on the Health of Amphibian Populations |
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