Book Description

Agricultural operations can contribute to water quality deterioration through the release of several materials into water: sediments, pesticides, animal manure, fertilizers and other sources of inorganic and organic matter. This guidelines document on control and management of agricultural water pollution aims to delineate the nature and consequences of agricultural impacts on water quality, and to provide a framework for practical measures to be undertaken by relevant professionals and decision-makers to control water pollution. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Agricultural Water Pollution; Water quality as a global issue, Non-point source pollution defined, Classes of non-point sources, Scope of the problem, Agricultural impacts on water quality, Types of impacts, Irrigation impacts on surface water quality, Public health impacts, Data on agricultural water pollution in developing countries, Types of decisions in agriculture for non-point source pollution control, The data problem; Chapter 2: Pollution by Sediments; Sediment as a physical pollutant, Sediment as a chemical pollutant, Key processes: precipitation and runoff, Key concepts, Sediment delivery ratio, Sediment enrichment ratio, Measurement and prediction of sediment loss, Prediction models, Sediment yield, Scale problems, Recommendations; Chapter 3: Fertilizers as Water Pollutants; Eutrophication of surface water, Role of agriculture in eutrophication, Organic fertilizers, Environmental chemistry, The point versus non-point source dilemma, Management of water quality impacts from fertilizers, Mineral fertilizers, Organic fertilizers, Sludge management, Economics of control of fertilizer runoff, Aquaculture, Problems of restoration of eutrophic lakes; Chapter 4: Pesticides as Water pollutants; Historical development of pesticides, North-south dilemma over pesticide economics, Fate and effects of pesticides, Factors affecting pesticide toxicity in aquatic systems, Human health effects of pesticides, Ecological effects of pesticides, Natural factors that degrade pesticides, Pesticide monitoring in surface water, Pesticide management and control, The european experience, Pesticide registration, The danish example, Pesticides and water quality in the developing countries; Chapter 5: Summary and Recommendations; Necessity to internalize costs at the farm level, Integrated national water quality management, Assessment methodology, Environmental capacity, The data problem in water quality, Water quality indices for application to agricultural water quality issues, Economic analysis of cost of water pollution attributed to agriculture, Information technology and decision making, Use of water quality objectives, FAO and the POPs agenda, Pesticides in developing countries.