Features of Pesticide-Contaminated Surface Water

Abstract

This work aims to investigate the concentration indices of 14 pesticides in the major water bodies of the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation. The study was conducted in 2019 using samples of bottom sediments and surface waters collected from three reservoirs (Krasnodar, Proletarian, and Veselovsky) and two rivers (Don and Sal). Concentrations of active pesticide substances were studied, and the results were benchmarked against 2018. In 2019, 14 active pesticide substances were detected in water and sediment samples from the three reservoirs under study. Maximum pesticide concentrations were observed in the spring of 2019 and autumn 2018. Total concentration indices in these time frames were similar, but autumn 2019 is 20 times lower than 2018 (0.7 versus 6.5, p ≤ 0.001). Total pesticide concentrations for rivers and reservoirs averaged about the same (0.15-0.80, p ≥ 0.05). There are different levels of pesticides in rivers and reservoirs. The detected pesticide concentrations did not exceed the maximum allowable concentrations, but the cumulative effect can have a harmful impact on hydrobionts in the future.