Are There Herbicides in My Drinking Water?

The use of herbicides by farmers as well as individual gardeners and homeowners is one which has long been considered controversial. Herbicides attack weeds, but are selective enough to allow for plant growth (unlike many traditional pesticides). As such, they are seen as a better solution for ecosystems.  However, there are still concerns over what toxins find their way into our food and drinking sources.

Herbicides finding their way into drinking water has been a long time concern and a study by the United States based Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently embarked on a nationwide experiment to establish the levels of herbicides found in drinking water and the potential risks they pose to animal and human life. The results can be found in this article: Determination of Routinely Monitored Herbicides in Drinking Water Samples.

Studies have shown that the presence of herbicides in water can not only have a number of adverse health effects to the person who consumes the water but also to any babies being carried by an expectant mother. The health implications include cancer, birth defects, cardiovascular problems, impaired function of eyes, kidney, liver and spleen, premature births, and reproductive problems.

The situation

When these factors are considered, it becomes essential that the harmful herbicides are removed from the source of water as soon as possible. The problem lies that for many farmers, there is no option but to use these chemicals. Without them their crops would not survive.

The solution

Obviously, putting farmers out of business would also have an adverse effect, so it is necessary to find a solution to the problem. In many cases, herbicides are allowed to enter the water system by one of two ways. Either the herbicides accumulate in the soil where they eventually filter into underground water or heavy rainfall and irrigation washes the chemicals into lakes and rivers. In both situations, the role of the farmer is often accidental. Nevertheless, when the EPA estimates that 3.5 million people in the Midwestern cities are facing higher risks of cancer as the result of these contaminants, then it is clear that action must be taken.

The advice for farmers (as well as individual growers) in the US is to use chemicals as sparingly as possible and furthermore to only use them on established plants. In many cases, herbicides have been used on the ground where plants had yet to break through. However, with nothing to cling to or sink into, the herbicides are simply washed away.

The UK Solution

In the United Kingdom, the use of herbicides is far more controlled, and many of those prevalent in the US are banned in the UK. It must be stated that both climate and growing conditions are vastly different than those of the United States and therefore the same controls might not be as effective. Nevertheless in the UK any farmer or organisation wishing to use a herbicide must file an application for a permit from the Environment Agency and must adhere to all regulations set down by the Food and Environment Protection Act 1995.