Detections of pyrethroids and other insecticides in aquatic systems around urban areas in California have raised concerns about pesticide runoff from outdoor applications in urban and residential settings. Modeling pesticide transport from urban areas is an uncertain endeavor due to a lack of detailed data and established modeling procedures. A modeling system was developed to estimate the runoff of five widely-used pyrethroids across a 164,000 km2 study area in California. County-level, use data were spatially distributed across the study area using detailed land use data. Homeowner and professional applicator surveys were used to allocate pyrethroid applications to buildings, lawns, and other impermeable and permeable surfaces. Washoff studies were used to develop model input parameter values for hard surface applications. Pyrethroid runoff corresponding to rainfall and to irrigation events were simulated to provide a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of pyrethroid mass loadings to aquatic systems in the study area.

Development of a modeling system to estimate pesticide runoff from urban areas in California

242nd National Meeting (2011)

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