Abstract:
The approval of pesticides has to guarantee that the natural resources will not be affected in any way and that pesticides will not get into the raw water of the drinking water supply.

The current contamination situation of the water bodies according to the water supply companies has been presented in a study funded by DVGW (German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water). The study comprised an evaluation of literature and of governmental monitoring programmes as well as of databases of different water supply associations and a survey among all DVGW water supply companies.

The study illustrated the possible origins and pathways of pesticides getting to the waters. For the most reported findings, the range of use, the application rates and the substances’ chemical and physical properties were collected systematically. The difficulties concerning the evaluation of the contamination situation as well as the lack of knowledge and future areas for research were demonstrated. The study also contains a critical evaluation of the current approval procedure for pesticides considering the aspects of water protection.

Based on the current state of knowledge concerning the contamination situation and possible origins of pesticides in water, recommendations for the modifications of the approval procedure have been worked out, which entered the scientific discussion.