Agricultural Water Quality Program

The Agricultural Water Quality Program implements agricultural monitoring and protection programs with public and private partners to protect ground and surface water quality. Projects are related to pesticides and water quality.

Ground Water

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) developed a Regional and Local Agricultural Ground Water Quality Monitoring Program to assist in implementing the Agricultural Ground Water Quality Protection Program for Idaho (1996), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pesticides and Water Quality Program and Laws and EPA’s Pesticide Management Plan. The objectives of the program are to:

·    Assess present status of ground water quality related to pesticides.
·    Track water quality trends.
·    Determine if legal uses of pesticides are contributing to ground water quality degradation.
·    Provide data to support the Idaho State Pesticide Management Plan.
·    Provide data for the creation of pesticide probability/vulnerability map.
·    Provide data to support BMP or regulatory evaluation processes.

The goal of this program is to work with the agricultural community, industries, agencies, local groups, and citizens to protect ground water quality.  The program is staffed with specialists in hydrogeology, agriculture, and environmental protection.

Surface Water

This program assists in fulfilling Clean Water Act and state requirements to implement surface water monitoring related to pesticides. The objectives of the program are to:

·    Fill data gaps to characterize surface water quality related to agricultural and range lands.
·    Identify critical sub-basins within watersheds.
·    Identify and quantify pesticide pollutant sources.
·    Relate pollutant loading to drainage areas, agricultural practices, and other factors.
·    Provide scientific data for effective and efficient BMP implementation.
·    Provide a data baseline for BMP effectiveness evaluation.

The goal of this program is to conduct monitoring to fill data and information gaps to effectively and efficiently monitor pesticides in surface waters of Idaho. The program is staffed with expertise in hydrology, agriculture, and environmental protection.