The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its five-year National Survey of Pesticides in Drinking Water Wells (NPS). This fact sheet provides an overview of the initial findings of the Survey. EPA designed the Survey with two principal objectives: (1) to determine the frequency and concentration of the presence of pesticides and nitrate in drinking water wells nationally; and (2) to improve EPA's understanding of how the presence of pesticides and nitrate in drinking water wells is associated with patterns of pesticide use and the vulnerability of ground water to contamination. The focus of the Survey was on the quality of drinking water in wells, rather than on the quality of ground water, surface water, or drinking water at the tap. The Survey was designed to yield valuable information on both the frequency and levels of pesticides, pesticide degradates, and nitrate present in rural domestic (private) wells and community (public) drinking water wells on a nationwide basis. The Survey, however, was not designed to provide an assessment of pesticide contamination in drinking water wells at the local, county, or State levels.

Caption title. Running title: NPS summary results. "Fall 1990." Microfiche.