Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Catchment, Coastal and Biodiversity Management Team, Anglian Water Services Ltd., Thorpe Wood House, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE3 6WT, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Mar 15;656:1436-1447. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.260. Epub 2018 Nov 20.
In the agriculture intensive eastern region of England, plant protection products are widely applied to protect crops such as wheat and oilseed rape from pests and diseases, thus creating a risk of reaching nearby water courses through surface runoff. The EU Drinking Water Directive sets a stringent limit of 0.1 μg/l and 0.5 μg/l for individual and total pesticides respectively in treated potable water. However, peak metaldehyde levels have been persistently detected in raw water and reducing them to these limits has proven challenging and costly, in particular when using conventional treatment. In line with the EU Water Framework Directive, a more suitable approach and one adopted by the local water company, Anglian Water Services Ltd., would require moving towards mitigating pollution at source, preferably through participative action with multiple stakeholders in the agricultural industry. Initial findings demonstrate the potential of product substitution for reducing metaldehyde levels in surface waters. Reviewing Anglian Water's "Slug it Out" trial, we discuss key learnings derived from their experiences and make recommendations about the potential of the catchment approach to address the wider pesticide challenge.
在英国东部农业密集地区，人们广泛使用植保产品来保护小麦和油菜等作物免受病虫害的侵害，这就产生了通过地表径流进入附近水道的风险。《欧盟饮用水指令》分别为处理后的饮用水中单独存在的和总量存在的杀虫剂设定了严格的限值，即 0.1μg/l 和 0.5μg/l。然而，在原水中持续检测到较高的灭多威水平，要将其降低到这些限值证明是具有挑战性和代价高昂的，特别是在使用常规处理方法时。根据《欧盟水框架指令》，一种更合适的方法，也是当地自来水公司——安格利安水务有限公司所采用的方法，将需要从源头着手减轻污染，最好是通过农业产业中多个利益相关者的参与式行动。初步研究结果表明，产品替代有潜力降低地表水中的灭多威水平。通过审查安格利安水务公司的“消灭鼻涕虫”试验，我们讨论了从其经验中获得的关键教训，并就集水区方法解决更广泛的农药挑战的潜力提出了建议。
