Persistence of pesticides in water from farm plots recently converted to organic farming

In Europe, the pervasive use of pesticides in agricultural areas has led to the deterioration of the quality of groundwater and surface water, resources earmarked for human consumption. The aim of the European Water Framework Directive 91/474 is to restore the “good ecological status” of surface water and to protect water that might be used for drinking water production by 2015. Interactions within the soil determine the fate of environmental pesticides. Water resource contamination may persist for a long time after the last use of pesticides (i.e., atrazine). Pesticide persistence is highly variable. The fate and persistence of pesticides in the environment depend on agricultural pesticide practices and on soil interactions, which are interrelated physical, chemical and biological processes that are often sitespecific. This study, which is taking place at INRA’s Mirecourt Experimental Station in the Lorraine region of France, will make it possible to evaluate the persistence and environmental resilience of pesticides in water from plots recently converted to organic farming, within the framework of the WFD. A database includes all pesticide practices from 1969 to 2004, the year of the last treatment. It is hoped that the Mirecourt study, five years after the end of pesticide use, will shed light on the long-term persistence of pesticides in water resources.