Full Description

Herbicides like atrazine, simazine, therbutylazine, isoproturon, diuron, and also glyphosate andaminotriazole, are chronic contaminants of the three main rivers of the Paris area (Seine, Marneand Oise), which provide drinking water for more than 4 million inhabitants of suburban Paris. Therisk of exceeding the threshold for drinking water can be estimated at more than 150 days per yearfor all these various substances (in the European Union, the maximum admissible concentrationfor pesticides in drinking water is 0.1 ug/l).To face up to the contamination of its resources by pesticides, the Syndicat des Eaux d'Ile-de-France (SEDIF), a large association of municipalities supplying drinking water to 4 millioninhabitants in the Paris suburbs, had to implement relevant treatment devices. The three SEDIFwaterworks, operated by Vivendi-G¿n¿rale des Eaux, produce more than 1 million m3 of drinkingwater per day. They are located on the Seine river and its two tributaries, the Marne and Oiserivers. The use of ozonation and grain activated carbon (GAC) in the conventional plants, but alsonanofiltration in the new plant at Mery-sur-Oise, are the main steps that reduce pesticide andmetabolite concentrations in the SEDIF plants.Because of the lack of the European legislation, which has not yet taken into account the reality ofthe contamination of water resources by pesticides and the resulting issue for the drinking wateroperators, and because of the pesticide practices, the implementation of prevention programs inthe river basins seems necessary. These findings led the SEDIF to implement a large-scaleprogram aimed at preventing pollution by pesticides in the Marne River basin. Includes 4 references, table, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/15/2003 Number of Pages: 7File Size: 1 file , 860 KB