ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Pesticides stand out as one of the major development of modern agriculture. They are widely used on crops to increase yields, save energy and labour, and make crop production efficient and profitable. However, their use and or misuse may lead to serious water quality problems that could impair the use of water for crop and animal production or even human consumption. The impact of agricultural chemicals on surface water and ground water quality has become an issue of national importance. Fish kills, reproductive failure of birds, and acute illness in people have been all attributed to the ingestion of pesticides or exposure to pesticides usually as the result of misapplication, careless storage and careless disposal of unused pesticides and pesticide containers. In addition to potential health and environmental threats, pesticide losses from fields and contamination of non-target sites (such as surface water and ground water) represent a monetary loss to farmers. This paper reports recent data on pesticide residues in surface water, ground water and wastewater.
