The organization Ecologistas en Acción has denounced that official water analyzes look for historical pesticides that are no longer used, instead of measuring those that are widely used in the fields. In addition, according to the entity, these controls are no longer carried out in many municipalities, which are left without information on the possible presence of pesticides in their water.
The report Pesticides in drinking water analyzes the control of pesticides in drinking water carried out in 2021 by the administrations responsible for the supply. It highlights that the agricultural pesticides that are actually used are not traced, which are the ones that can contaminate the supply areas due to diffuse contamination. Instead, according to Ecologistas en Acción, they focus on studying the possible presence of unauthorized historical pesticides that are no longer used.
It is also worrying, for the environmental defense organization, that a large number of Spanish populations lack analytics to detect pesticides in their drinking water, so they do not have any information on the presence of these toxins.
For Ecologistas en Acción, the information that the responsible authorities are giving, with the Ministry of Health at the helm, is not complete, since it does not include all the populations, nor is it representative of the real situation, as it ignores the pesticides that are actually used in the supply area.
The report also reviews the case of contamination with agricultural herbicides in Les Garrigues, in the summer of 2022, where they could not be supplied with water for two months.
Ecologists in Action reminds the administrations that they must carry out a more rigorous control of pesticides in drinking water that ensures, as required by law, that "water intended for the production of water for human consumption does not entail a risk to the health of the supplied population”.
For this, the administrations, at the discretion of Ecologistas en Acción, must know and analyze which pesticides are used in their territorial area and carry out measures to reduce diffuse contamination, if any.
