Promoting Safe Use of Pesticides
Pesticides can pose significant risk to local water supplies. Drinking water is abstracted from the River Wye by both Severn Trent Water and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water. Failure to voluntarily reduce the levels of pesticides in water may result in restrictions on their use.
Splashes and Spills
Up to 40% of pesticides found in surface and ground water come from tiny splashes and spills that occur when filling sprayers or rinsing containers. Just one dropped foil seal can contain enough pesticide to breach the drinking water standard in 30km of stream.
To find out more click on the following links:
Reducing metaldehyde in the Wye – Severn Trent Water are working in partnership with the Wye & Usk Foundation to reduce the number of incidents of metaldehyde levels exceeding the drinking water standard at their Mitcheldean abstraction.
This partnership approach started in 2016 and includes farm advisory support to farms in the Drinking Water Safeguarding Zone as well as pesticide amnesties, capital grant schemes and funding for biodiversity options.
Water source initiative – Dwr Cymru Welsh Water run two programmes in the Wye; the Weed Wiper partnership to tackle the rising levels of the grassland herbicide MCPA and also PestSmart which allows safe disposal of unwanted or out of date pesticides.
Pesticide monitoring – The Voluntary Initiative works in partnership with Catchment Sensitive Farming to provide regular bulletins with pesticide monitoring data for target catchments collated from the Environment Agency and Water Companies.
