Pesticides and Fertilizers

Whether they are applied in residential or commercial settings, pesticides and fertilizers are easily transported via rainwater into nearby streams, lakes, ponds, and even underground aquifers or other groundwater supplies. In a review of studies around the nation in 1997, the US Geological Survey found that pesticides have been found in underground supplies in most areas studied. Chemicals that result from the original pesticide’s breakdown may be even more common in our drinking water. Unfortunately, current testing requirements in NJ do not tell residents if these degradation products are present. This is a problem in a state where it is estimated that at least eight million pounds of pesticides are used annually (NJ Pesticide Resource Manual for Health Professionals, 12-1).

Many pesticides are toxic to pets, other animals, fish and plants, and beneficial insects. They may easily degrade wildlife habitat. Disturbingly, some of the most common herbicides in use today - Atrazine, Simazine, Alachlor, 2,4_D, and DCPA all pose a cancer risk, and the last two have been linked to birth defects (Drinking Water and Health: Facts on Pesticides in Drinking Water, NJ Department of Health, 4-5). And in a National Cancer Institute study, home pesticide use has now been linked with childhood leukemia (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 79[1]: 39-46). Residents should consider “least toxic” means to controlling lawn and household pests and should never engage in “calendar” methods of treating these problems (in which pesticides are applied on a regular schedule, rather than as needed).

One method for controlling pests with minimal chemical use is called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM relies on a preventive approach: identifying pests when present in a building or lawn and determining a strategy for dealing with each one. This approach relies on managing pests by inspection, monitoring, site and sanitation improvements, and mechanical, biological, and “least hazardous” chemical controls. IPM can be utilized both on individual properties and on large sites such as farms, corporate parks and institutional grounds. Pesticide reductions of up to 90 percent have been achieved at federal facilities using IPM.

Fertilizers also contribute to water pollution problems in New Jersey. Excess nitrogen runoff into lakes and ponds causes “algae blooms” that cloud the water and deprive fish and other organisms of much-needed oxygen. Periodic fish “kills” throughout the state, particularly in the summer when oxygen demand is high, are the direct result of nitrogen runoff into the water. This problem begins at the level of individual homeowners, many of whom mistakenly think that “more is better” with fertilizer applications.

Soil test kits, available at most garden centers and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service of Gloucester County, can identify pH and nutrient deficiencies and should be used before blanket or calendar fertilizer applications are made. Fertilizer should never be applied before a heavy rain. Apply the minimum amount needed.

Traditional lawn management also contributes to impacts on water in Gloucester County. It does so in two ways: The use of lawn turf requires extensive watering, which draws on ever-scarcer water supplies; and the subsequent overuse of fertilizers and pesticides delivers excess phosphorus, nitrogen, and poisons to streams and lakes. Planting drought and/or disease-resistant native vegetation, reducing lawn area or replacing with other ground covers, and using hardier lawn turf species such as the fine fescue grasses, all reduce the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and watering.

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