Transfer results of groundwater monitoring studies to other regions

Using modelling approaches to transfer results of groundwater monitoring studies to other regions of interest

N. Kehrein¹, S. Mayer² and R. Sur^2
1knoell Germany GmbH, Crop Protection, Germany
²Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, Germany

Event: SETAC Europe 2019, Helsinki, Finland

Groundwater monitoring is part of the European risk assessment scheme for the (re-)authorisation of plant protection products. Monitoring is often complex, labour intensive, and usually requires several years of sample collection. The number of monitoring sites within a study is limited by the associated costs and required effort to ensure high study quality. It is therefore often necessary to focus monitoring on the main regions of product use. Spatial exposure modelling approaches can be employed to set results of monitoring studies into context and to compare them with other regions which are not covered by monitoring. The concept of specific groundwater vulnerability was applied to rank and compare regions based on the likelihood of substance occurrence in leachate from the root zone. It took into account local environmental factors, such as soil and weather, as well as the properties of the evaluated substances.