Monday, April 27, 2020

Pesticide Detectives on the Georges River

Sample of river sediment
Sample of river sediment shows pesticides can accumulate in waterways

Georges Riverkeeper recently collected sediment samples from streams across the Georges River catchment for the Pesticide Detectives project. The project is an initiative to measure the occurrence and concentration of pesticides in waterways across Australia. The project includes both rural waterways and urban waterways, such as the Georges River.

In the Georges River catchment, pesticides are most likely sourced from stormwater that can pick up pollutants when flowing from homes and gardens where pesticides are commonly used.

In receiving waterways, the pesticides can accumulate in sediments and harm animals and plants. Data gathered during the project will provide information about hotspots for contamination of waterways by pesticides, which will guide measures to mitigate the impacts of pesticide pollution.

The Pesticide Detectives project is being led by the scientific expertise of RMIT University’s Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group (AQUEST). The results of the April sampling are expected to be published in the second half of 2020.

YouTube Video

Dr. David Reid from Georges Riverkeeper is out in the field taking samples for the Pesticide Detectives program. Find out why pesticides are so bad for waterways and watch Dr. Dave take samples from the sediment.