This document summarizes research on the temporal and spatial variation of the herbicide atrazine in surface waters. It discusses how atrazine occurrence occurs in pulses following rain storms and varies considerably between locations only miles apart. Studies found atrazine co-occurs with other agrichemicals and is a sentinel for their presence. Testing found surface water samples triggered gene expressions in lab animals linked to adverse health. The research also demonstrated how atrazine levels varied greatly across the massive Mississippi River basin within a single day, reflecting the challenges of addressing watershed-scale contamination that spans vast geographies and jurisdictions.

1. Alan Kolok
Director, Nebraska Watershed Network UN Omaha
Director, Center for Environmental Health and Toxicology, UNMC
Faculty Fellow, Daugherty Water for Food Institute
Water and Health: Issues and Opportunities.
January 27, 2016
NWN[the network]

2. Water and Health:
Issues

3. Who Poisoned Flint, Michigan?
January, 2016

4. Polluted Water
Improper
Treatment
Adverse health
impacts

5. Flint, Michigan is an example of a traditional
water pollution problem:
- Limited geography
- Environmental
problem is fixable.
- Biological problem is acute,
obvious and newsworthy.

6. Common weed killer atrazine is showing up
in public water supply.
- August 2009
Small towns in Illinois have atrazine in their drinking water.
Atrazine, drinking water and public health.
Syngenta settles Atrazine lawsuit for $105 million.
- January, 2013
Herbicide tainted water systems.
Debating how much weed killer is safe in
our water glass.
- August 2009

7. ‘Super - wicked’ environmental problems
- Lazarus 2009
- Environmental problem:
multiple sources,
fixable only with considerable
political effort.
- Vast geography.
- Biological problems are confronted by ‘doubters’.

8. The poster child for Super Wicked Problems:
Global climate change.

9. Is watershed scale atrazine contamination a super
wicked problem?

10. Illinois Drinking Water Facilities
US EPA has collected
preretreatment water sampled
at 15 DWFs, mostly servicing
small towns.
Sampling occurred from
2004 until 2011.
March 1 - September 1 each
year.
Most sites in most years had >20 atrazine measurements.
http://www2.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/atrazine-monitoring-program-data-and-results

11. Ashland, Illinois
% exceedance of 3 ppb (0%)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Atrazine(ppb)
Percent of Time
Atrazine Concentration Duration Curve

12. “Superconsumers” exist in the
populaiton and are responsible for
the majority of the data collection.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Concentration(ppb)
Fraction of Time
Atrazine Concentration Duration Curve
Mt. Olive, Illinois
% exceedance of 3 ppb (43%)
Average atrazine conc. in raw water = 4.45 ppb
Average conc. in finished water = 2.6 ppb

13. The water quality between Mt. Olive and Ashland,
82 miles apart is considerably different.
To understand the health risks
associated with agrichemicals in water, it is necessary to
understand the temporal and spatial variation in
the occurrence of agrichemicals.

14. Temporal variation of atrazine in surface water.
The Elkhorn River Research Station

15. Atrazine testing
strips:
Fast, inexpensive,
accurate
Immediate reporting time (10 min)
Inexpensive ($10 / sample)
Discriminates presence at 3 ppb
+ -

16. Weekly Atrazine Occurrence
April 1-July 1 2011-2015
April May June
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

17. Rain storms, river
discharge and atrazine.
2012
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
29-Mar 18-Apr 8-May 28-May 17-Jun 7-Jul
WaterlooGagingStation
MeanDischarge(cubicft/sec)
Knight et al. 2013. Env. Tox. Chem, 32:1544-1551.
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
21-Apr May 11 May 31 Jun 20 Jul 10
MeanDischarge
(WaterlooUSGSgagingstation)
2013
Ali and Kolok 2015. Env. Tox. Chem. 34:1354–1361.

18. Compound
Atrazine
Acetochlor
Metolachlor
DEA
Dimethenamid
DIA
Propazine
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
29-Mar 18-May 7-Jul
WaterlooGagingStation
MeanDischarge(cubicft/s)
Pulse
19540
10909
3628
1262
918
655
189
Post - Pulse
690
39
160
221
34
106
17
Knight et al. 2013. Environ Toxicol Chem 32:1544-1551.

19. Atrazine is acting as a sentinel chemical, as it co-occurs with
a number of other herbicides.
Acetochlor Alachlor Atrazine DEA
Propazine 0.93* 0.76* 0.97* 0.81*
Acetochlor 0.88* 0.91* 0.79*
Alachlor 0.74* 0.56
Atrazine 0.78*
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Waterconcentrationofherbicides(mg/L)
Day of exposure
Ali and Kolok 2015 In press. Environ Toxicol Chem.

20. Relativegene
expression
0.2
0.6
1
Lab water Pulse
water
*
ER-a
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
12-Mar 1-Apr 21-Apr 11-May 31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul
MeanDischarge
(WaterlooUSGSgagingstation)
2012
2012
Knight et al. 2013. Environ Toxicol Chem. 32:1544-1551.
Relativegene
expression 0.0
0.25
0.5
Lab water Pulse
water
*
Vtg
*

21. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
12-Mar 1-Apr 21-Apr 11-May 31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul
MeanDischarge
(WaterlooUSGSgagingstation)
2012
ER-a
Vtg
Relativegene
expression
0.0
0.35
0.7
Lab water Post -pulse
water
Relativegene
expression
0.0
0.65
1.3
Lab water
Post-pulse
water
Knight et al. 2013. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 32:1544-1551

22. Temporal variation of atrazine in surface water.
Atrazine is present in pulses, that
depend upon storm events.
The presence of atrazine is
indicative of the presence of a
suite of agrichemicals.
These chemicals are biologically
active, and create adverse health
impacts.

23. Spatial variation of atrazine across watersheds.

24. 2011, “What’s in your watershed Day?”
Citizen Scientists, including
members of Boy Scout Troop
597 collected data on atrazine
throughout the entire Elkhorn River
basin.
Over 110 data points were
collected and routed to a GIS
dataset and map, all in one
day.
Omaha Boy Scout Troop 597 at the
Elkhorn River Research Station.

25. Omaha Boy Scout Troop 597 at the
Elkhorn River Research Station.
- Omaha Boy Scout Troop 597
- Norfolk Boy Scout Pack 124
-Ewing Public Schools
- Audubon Society of Omaha
- Nebraska Master Naturalists
- Sierra Club Missouri Valley
- Keep Fremont Beautiful
- Keep Norfolk Beautiful
- Upper Elkhorn River NRD
Volunteer Organizations :

26. Data acquisition through
an interactive website.

27. Super wicked problems.
Lazarus (2009)
Interdependencies, uncertainties, circularities,
and conflicting stakeholders implicated by any effort to
develop a solution.
Time is not costless, the longer it takes to address the
problem, the harder it will be to do so.

28. May 21, 2011 What’s in your Watershed Day
96 tests, 53 positive hits.
0/15
0% 4/12
33%

29. … or even continental.

30. New Orleans
Arkansas River
Ohio River
Missouri River
Illinois River
Minnesota
Li’l Miss Atrazine – monitoring the occurrence
of atrazine throughout the Mississippi River basin.

31. All samples were collected
within a 24 hr period on June 7, 2014.
211 useable data points
were collected from 7 states.

32. Region n > 3 ppb (%)
Far North (Minnesota) 23 0%
North (N. Illinois) 63 9.5%
St. Louis region 15 26%
Central (Ky/Mo) 37 45%
Lower (Louisiana) 9 0%
Ali et al. 2016 IEAM In press.

34. Within a single day, atrazine
concentration varies
considerably from site to site across
a large geography.
While not totally surprising, this is the
first time that data of this type have
been acquired simultaneously across a
massive watershed.

35. The spatial and temporal
relationships between atrazine
application and detection in surface
water are understood.
Efforts are underway to elucidate
the relationship between surface
water incidence
and adverse health impacts.

36. Collaborators:
Daniel Snow University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Shannon Bartelt-Hunt University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Eleanor Rogan University of Nebraska Medical Center
Graduate Students :
Marlo Sellin-Jeffries Lindsey Sherretts-Knight
Ashley Jessick Jonathan Ali
Jodi Sangster Ryan Krysl
Yun Zhang
Undergraduate Students :
Nicholas Conoan, Aisling Quigley, Racine Rangel, Suzie Slobotski,
Michael Benner, Anthony Riskowski, Yasmine Farhat, Miranda Iliff
Jameson Linscott, Matthew Dunkle, Courtney Smith , Ashley Eisert
Jennifer Kathol, Mariah Rakestraw, Jessica Edwards Afra Albassam
Rebecca Wiemann, Joshua Ojomo, Derek Colwell, Karissa Pyres
Dan Hawkins, Mariah Rakestraw
NWN[the network]

37. Partners