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EHHI Urges Cutbacks in Pesticide Use to Protect Drinking Water

Press Release

Using the monarch butterfly as a symbol, the research and advocacy group Environment and Human Health, Inc., has launched a campaign to encourage voluntary reductions in the use of pesticides in Connecticut.
The campaign targets municipal governments as well as individual residents, said Nancy Alderman, president of EHHI. The new initiative is a follow-up to an EHHI study published in 1999 that identified pesticides in private well water.

"We want to help residents as well as public officials to realize that pesticides used on lawns, gardens and trees do filter down into ground water," Alderman said. "We are asking cities and towns to take the lead by reducing the use of pesticides on their own properties," Alderman said.

The pesticide-reduction program aims to protect drinking water supplies throughout the state against contamination. The campaign was announced formally during a news conference on May 23 at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Private wells provide drinking water for an estimated 500,000 of Connecticut 3.3 million residents.

"Testing private wells for pesticide contamination is very expensive, and partly because of the cost, it is not required. There also is the issue that most people who have wells simply don't know that they should test for pesticides," Alderman said.

As part of the initiative, EHHI is offering monarch-butterfly signs that local governments and residents may place on their properties. The round, 12-inch signs declaring "Pesticide Free Lawn," are available for a fee of $5 each, to cover costs.

"We hope to start seeing the pesticide-free lawn markers all over Connecticut. It's an educational process and we think this is a great way to move the discussion forward," Alderman said. "We are advocating a method called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. This system uses chemical-free strategies first and uses pesticides only as a last resort."

Joining Alderman at the news conference was Susan Addiss, former Connecticut state commissioner of public health and a member of the board of directors of EHHI. She discussed the significance of the findings of the EHHI study of pesticides in well water.

Also taking part was Rick Matheny, health director for the 10-town Farmington Valley Regional Health District. A supporter of Integrated Pest Management, he discussed the importance of city and town health departments becoming involved in efforts to reduce pesticide use.

Alderman called on city and town governments to do more to involve their regional health districts in preserving the purity of drinking water wells. "A town does not need to wait until contamination levels exceed the drinking-water standards. Local governments can start to plan pesticide reduction strategies and receive good advice from the regional health districts," she said.

EHHI also is calling on city and town governments to hold educational public meetings to present information about chemical-free lawn and garden care to interested residents. "Each community as a whole needs to take responsibility for preserving the purity of its citizens' drinking water," Alderman said.

The new campaign by EHHI to encourage chemical-free lawn and garden care is a follow-up to a research project the organization completed last year. The study, conducted in Woodbridge, concluded that 11 percent of the private water supply wells showed trace levels of pesticide contamination.

"One of our most significant findings was that even homeowners who themselves do not use pesticides may have contamination in their wells," Alderman said.

"When pesticides are used in a community, they may show up in a another part of the community in the ground water. This is a problem that needs to be addressed by whole communities and throughout our state," Addiss said.

Property owners who would like to declare their support of Integrated Pest Management may obtain the "Pesticide Free Lawn" signs by mail. Requests, with payments by check to EHHI of $5 for each sign, may be mailed to: EHHI, 1191 Ridge Rd., North Haven CT 06473.

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