Atrazine

Overview

Triazine herbicides, such as atrazine, are commonly applied to crops (corn and sorghum) to control the growth of weeds. These herbicides typically are applied to fields during the growing season and high concentrations in the surface water can be a result of rainfall and runoff.

Water-quality standards and criteria are developed by the States, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and then promulgated (passed into law) as standards by each State. Graphs on this website allow comparison of measured and computed data to these standards and criteria by plotting them as straight lines. When evaluating data to decide whether water quality is suitable for the intended use, viewers are cautioned to consider the uncertainty associated with these computed data.