ABSTRACT
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that agriculture is the largest US source of surface water contamination and a major contributor to groundwater pollution (Napier, 1983; Diebel et al., 1992). Water problems include bacteria, salinity, sediment, pathogenic organisms, toxic material and nutrient (nitrate) pollution. The EPA conducted a national survey on pesticides in drinking water wells and discovered that about 52 per cent of community wells have detectable amounts of nitrate, 10 per cent of wells contain at least one pesticide, and 7 per cent may contain both nitrates and pesticides (Diebel et al., 1992). Similar problems are appearing in the Abbotsford aquifer region of SW British Columbia (BC) in Canada.
