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Agriculture and the Quality of the Nation's Waters

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By Water Resources Mission Area March 2, 2019

Intensive studies by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project in agricultural areas provide insight into how agricultural activities have altered the natural flow of water and the way that agricultural chemicals enter streams and aquifers, and in particular how nutrients affect algal and invertebrate communities in agricultural streams.

We all have a connection to agriculture, which supplies a major part of the Nation’s food, feed, and fiber needs. Agricultural chemicals move into and through every component of the hydrologic system, including air, soil, soil water, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.

Media
Tractor pulling fertilizer on a new crop
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

The results of these NAWQA agricultural-area studies are described in two USGS publications: Agriculture—A River Runs Through It—The Connections Between Agriculture and Water Quality (Circular 1433) and Understanding the Influences of Nutrients on Stream Ecosystems in Agricultural Landscapes (Circular 1437). Find additional publications under the Publications tab and presentations under the Multimedia tab.

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Map of River basin Circular 1433,1437
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Map of the agricultural areas across the United States whose results are summarized in USGS Circulars 1433 and 1437.

Follow the links below to web pages on topics related to agriculture and water quality.

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Island near Durango, Colorado

Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)

The goals of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life (contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration) and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region.
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Water Resources Mission Area
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Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)

The goals of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life (contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration) and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region.
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Below are multimedia items associated with this project.

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Below are publications associated with this project.

Agriculture — A river runs through it — The connections between agriculture and water quality

Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and longterm...
Authors
Paul Capel, Kathleen A. McCarthy, Richard H. Coupe, Katia M. Grey, Sheila E. Amenumey, Nancy T. Baker, Richard L. Johnson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Water Science School
Filter Total Items: 102

Algal and Invertebrate Community Composition along Agricultural Gradients: A Comparative Study from Two Regions of the Eastern United States

Benthic algal and invertebrate communities in two Coastal Plain regions of the Eastern United States?the Delmarva Peninsula (27 sites) and Georgia Upper Coastal Plain (29 sites)?were assessed to determine if aspects of agricultural land use and nutrient conditions (dissolved and whole-water nitrogen and phosphorus) could be linked to biological community compositions. Extensive effort...
Authors
Daniel L. Calhoun, M. Brian Gregory, Holly S. Weyers
By
Water Resources Mission Area, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Estimating Water Fluxes Across the Sediment-Water Interface in the Lower Merced River, California

The lower Merced River Basin was chosen by the U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) to be included in a national study on how hydrological processes and agricultural practices interact to affect the transport and fate of agricultural chemicals. As part of this effort, surface-water?ground-water (sw?gw) interactions were studied in an...
Authors
Celia Zamora

Pesticides in rain in four agricultural watersheds in the United States

Rainfall samples were collected during the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons at four agricultural locales across the USA in Maryland, Indiana, Nebraska, and California. The samples were analyzed for 21 insecticides, 18 herbicides, three fungicides, and 40 pesticide degradates. Data from all sites combined show that 7 of the 10 most frequently detected pesticides were herbicides, with...
Authors
Jason R. Vogel, Michael S. Majewski, Paul Capel
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Whole-stream response to nitrate loading in three streams draining agricultural landscapes

Physical, chemical, hydrologic, and biologic factors affecting nitrate (NO3 −) removal were evaluated in three agricultural streams draining orchard/dairy and row crop settings. Using 3-d “snapshots” during biotically active periods, we estimated reach-level NO3 − sources, NO3 − mass balance, in-stream processing (nitrification, denitrification, and NO3 − uptake), and NO3 − retention...
Authors
J.H. Duff, Anthony J. Tesoriero, W. B. Richardson, E.A. Strauss, M.D. Munn
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Water Resources Mission Area, Washington Water Science Center

Variations in pesticide leaching related to land use, pesticide properties, and unsaturated zone thickness

Pesticide leaching through variably thick soils beneath agricultural fields in Morgan Creek, Maryland was simulated for water years 1995 to 2004 using LEACHM (Leaching Estimation and Chemistry Model). Fifteen individual models were constructed to simulate five depths and three crop rotations with associated pesticide applications. Unsaturated zone thickness averaged 4.7 m but reached a...
Authors
R.M.T. Webb, M.E. Wieczorek, B. T. Nolan, T.C. Hancock, Mark W. Sandstrom, J.E. Barbash, E.R. Bayless, R.W. Healy, J. Linard
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Water Resources Mission Area, Washington Water Science Center, National Water Quality Laboratory

Occurrence and fate of pesticides in four contrasting agricultural settings in the United States

Occurrence and fate of 45 pesticides and 40 pesticide degradates were investigated in four contrasting agricultural settings—in Maryland, Nebraska, California, and Washington. Primary crops included corn at all sites, soybeans in Maryland, orchards in California and Washington, and vineyards in Washington. Pesticides and pesticide degradates detected in water samples from all four areas...
Authors
G. V. Steele, Henry M. Johnson, Mark W. Sandstrom, Paul Capel, J.E. Barbash
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Washington Water Science Center, Nebraska Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, National Water Quality Laboratory
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