Results from "JOVA" - The agricultural and environmental monitoring program of pesticides in Norway 1995-1999.

In the monitoring program called "JOVA" we have the following types of inve stigations: streams and rivers, drainage water, groundwater, sediments and precipitations. In this paper only the results from 12 locations concerning streams and rivers are presented from the years 1995 - 1999. In six of the drainage basins data on the use of pesticides have been collected. 851 sam ples have been collected during this period. In 540 samples one or more pes ticides have been detected above the detection limit giving the result that 63% of samples contain pesticide residues. 33 pesticides of a number of 53 substances analysed have been detected in surface water. Of these, 21 were herbicides, 8 fungicides and 5 insecticides. 13 Different pesticides were detected in concentrations, supposed to have environmental impact on algae, daphnia or other aquatic species i.e. at or above the maximum residue limi t (MRL). The different pesticides showed very different pattern according t o the frequency and concentrations that were measured.