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Pesticides in Water and Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers, Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin, California, 2006–2007

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Pesticides in Water and Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers, Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin, California, 2006–2007 CALIFORNIA Water Boards STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARDS In cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board Pesticides in Water and Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers, Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin, California, 2006–2007 Data Series 365 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photograph of the New River in Imperial County, California. Pesticides in Water and Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers, Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin, California, 2006–2007 By James L. Orlando, Kelly L. Smalling, and Kathryn M. Kuivila Prepared in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board Agreement # 05-278-250-0 Data Series 365 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS--the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Orlando, J.L., Smalling, K.L., and Kuivila, K.M., 2008, Pesticides in water and suspended sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers, Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin, California, 2006–2007: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 365, 32 p. iii Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Hydrologic Setting ................................................................................................................................2 Pesticide Use .........................................................................................................................................4 Study Design ..........................................................................................................................................4 Descriptions of Sampling Sites ..........................................................................................................6 Alamo River Sites .........................................................................................................................6 New River Sites ............................................................................................................................7 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................8 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................8 Sample Collection and Processing Methods ...........................................................................................8 Large-Volume Water Samples ............................................................................................................8 Sample Processing ...............................................................................................................................8 Dissolved Organic Carbon and Suspended-Sediment Concentration Sample Collection .......8 Water-Quality Parameters ...................................................................................................................9 Analytical Methods .......................................................................................................................................9 Dissolved Pesticides ............................................................................................................................9 Sediment-Associated Pesticides .......................................................................................................9 Instrumental Analysis.........................................................................................................................10 Sediment Organic Carbon and Nitrogen .........................................................................................10 Dissolved Organic Carbon ................................................................................................................10 Suspended-Sediment Concentration and Grain Size ...................................................................11 Quality Assurance/Quality Control ............................................................................................................11 Dissolved Pesticides ..........................................................................................................................11 Sediment-Associated Pesticides .....................................................................................................11 Method Detection Limits ...................................................................................................................12 Results ...........................................................................................................................................................14 Dissolved Pesticides ..........................................................................................................................14 Sediment-Associated Pesticides .....................................................................................................18 Sediment Organic Carbon and Nitrogen .........................................................................................28 Dissolved-Organic-Carbon and Suspended-Sediment Concentrations ...................................28 Water-Quality Parameters .................................................................................................................28 Summary and Conclusions .........................................................................................................................29 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................30 iv Figures Figure 1. Location map showing study area within the Imperial Valley/Salton Sea basin … 2 Figure 2. Map of sampling sites and major agricultural drain inputs to the Alamo and New Rivers ……………………………………………………………………… 3 Figure 3. Graph of mean daily flows for the Alamo and New Rivers at their outlets to the Salton Sea ………………………………………………………………………… 4 Figure 4. Pesticide application (excluding sulfur) in the combined Alamo/New River watershed in 2006 along with Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 sampling periods ……… 5 Figure 5. Detection frequencies of dissolved pesticides, as a percentage of the total number of samples collected, by river system …………………………………… 19 Figure 6. Detection frequencies of dissolved pesticides, as a percentage of the total number of samples collected, by season ………………………………………… 19 Figure 7. Frequency of detection, as a percentage of the total number of samples collected, by river system, for sediment-associated pesticides ………………… 27 Tables Table 1. Pesticide applications of compounds analyzed for in this study 2003–2006 ……… 5 Table 2. Sampling sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California ………………… 6 Table 3. Stream discharge, dissolved organic carbon, and suspended-sediment concentrations at sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California ……… 7 Table 4. Method detection limits and U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) parameter codes for dissolved pesticides in water. ……………… 12 Table 5. Method detection limits and U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) parameter codes for pesticides associated with suspended sediment ………………………………………………………………………… 13 Table 6. Dissolved pesticide concentrations measured in samples collected at sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California, September 2006 to April 2007 … 14 Table 7. Numbers of detections of dissolved pesticides by season and river system …… 18 Table 8. Pesticide concentrations in suspended sediments collected at sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California, September 2006 to April 2007 …………… 20 Table 9. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations in suspended sediments collected at sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California, September 2006 to April 2007 ………………………………………………………………………… 24 Table 10. Numbers of detections of sediment associated pesticides by season and river system …………………………………………………………………………… 27 Table 11. Percent organic carbon and nitrogen in suspended sediment samples collected in the Alamo and New Rivers …………………………………………… 28 Table 12. Mean water-quality parameter values calculated from measured stream cross-sections at sites located on the Alamo and New Rivers, California, September 2006 to April 2007 ……………………………………………………… 29 v Conversion Factors, Datums, and Abbreviated Water-Quality Units SI to Inch/Pound Multiply By To obtain Length centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.) millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.) meter (m) 3.281
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