How to Test for Pesticides in Bay Water

Pesticides are a very common pollutant in still or slow-moving bodies of water, such as wells and bays. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around half of the well and ground water in the United States is contaminated with pesticides, leading to large-scale environmental degradation and serious public health risks. Many pesticide contaminants are not visible to the naked eye and comprehensive testing is necessary to identify the exact pesticide pollutants and concentrations present in a water sample.

Things You'll Need

• Small, sealed container
• Water pesticide testing kit (testing strips)
• Water dropper

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Instructions

• 1

  Verify that all of your testing supplies are clean and free of dust. If you do not have access to a laboratory supply store that sells sterilized testing and collection items, clean and rinse the dropper and container thoroughly and allow them to dry in the sun.

• 2

  Take a small sample of water from the bay. Using the dropper, focus on removing a sample away from shore, in order to capture water with less sediment.

• 3

  Empty the dropper into the container. Take your sample to a closed room where you can work without excessive wind or other potential sources of sample contamination.

• 4

  Remove the testing strips from the kit and place them flat against a clean surface. Verify you have a strip that tests for each pesticide you suspect could be contaminating the bay water.

• 5

  Open the container and fill the dropper with water from the sample.

• 6

  Place a single drop of water on each strip. Allow each strip to fully absorb the drop of water and sit for the amount of time specified in the kit instructions. Do not attempt to speed-up the process by blowing on the strips or spreading the drop on the paper.

• 7

  Look for color changes in each strip. Consult the key included in your kit to determine what each color change means. Many kits will allow you to determine both presence of a certain pesticide and concentrations based on color changes.

  Low concentrations of atrazine, a common pesticide, for instance, may cause certain strips to turn red, while higher concentrations of the same compound might cause the strip to turn purple.

• 8

  Repeat the test on a yearly basis to monitor the situation.