First report on organochlorine pesticides in water in a highly productive agro-industrial basin of the Central Valley, Chile

•This is the first report on OCPs in water in an agricultural basin of Chile.•The Ñuble basin is characterized for the production of local and exportation fruits, animals farms and agri-food production.•The results shows similar trends in comparison with other agricultural basins of the world.•This study is a baseline for future works on OCPs in Chile.

The Ñuble River flows through an agricultural area in the central zone of Chile in which different types of fruits are grown. The objective of this study was to identify the levels and source of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the surface waters of the Ñuble River. Surface water samples were collected at 10 sampling points and analyzed for 19 organochlorine pesticides during the dry (spring-summer) and wet (autumn-winter) periods of 2013 and 2014. The results revealed that concentrations of total OCPs in surface waters ranged from 0.12 to 26.28 ng/l. Endosulfan and lindane were the main OCPs in the water. The maximum OCP levels were found in the dry period, while significantly lower concentrations were recorded in the wet period. This indicates that patterns of OCPs have varied in the last 10 years as this study found low concentrations of DDT and metabolites but significantly increased concentrations of α-endosulfan. Given the fact that OCPs were withdrawn from agricultural used many years ago, their presence indicates that they may be still in use clandestinely. Findings of significant concentrations of endosulfan and lindane in this study lead to the conclusion that the chemical fallow practices contribute to runoff into the river and surface water infiltration into groundwater. Because no studies have previously measured OCP levels in agricultural basins in Chile, this study is an important contribution to the knowledge of organochlorine contaminants present in surface water in Chile.