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Monitoring of Pesticides and Trace Organics in Water in England and Wales (1992 - 2008)
(Monitoring of Pesticides and Trace Organics in Water [1992 - 2008])

This dataset contains information on all pesticides and trace organics monitored by the Environment Agency (covering England and Wales for this period). Monitoring frequency varies between sites and years. Monitoring covers fresh and saline surface waters, groundwater, discharges, sediments and biota. Please note: Limits of detection vary between laboratories. Data is available for monitoring between 1992 and 2008. The dataset holds each year’s pesticides and trace organics monitoring data.

Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, molluscicides, rodenticides, growth regulators and masonry and timber preservatives. They are not confined to agriculture, but are also used on roads and rail tracks, in homes and gardens, as sheep dips, for the protection of public health, and for many other purposes. The Agency’s monitoring for pesticides is guided by statutory requirements to monitor concentrations of specific pesticides listed in certain Directives, and also non-statutory monitoring of pesticides, when investigating known or predicted local problems and pollution incidents. Trace Organics are organic compounds (including pesticides) detectable at low levels. As with pesticides, monitoring of these substances is guided by statutory requirements.

The data is extracted from the Environment Agency’s Water Information Management System (WIMS), and data in England from 2000 onwards should therefore also be available via the Environment Agency Water Quality Archive. Some sites are identified as being monitored for known or suspected contamination issues, so that they can be excluded for analysis of background levels. The layout of fields and tables varies from year to year. INFORMATION WARNING Where this dataset indicates that a sample was taken in connection with a pollution incident or potential legal proceedings no inference should be drawn that landowners in the immediate vicinity of the sampling site had any responsibility. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015