Recent pesticide monitoring studies have determined that agricultural pesticides are entering the waterways of Southern Ontario. This fact has been of concern to residents of the Dresden area, since the town's municipal water supply comes from the southern branch of the Sydenham River - a waterway that flows through an intensively farmed region of Southwestern Ontario. Not only have pesticides been found in the river water at Dresden, but many of the private wells in the South Sydenham watershed also have tested positively for a number of agricultural chemicals. In the latter part of 1988, Agriculture Canada, in response to the presence of pesticides from agricultural sources in the water supply in the Dresden area, proposed that a preliminary literature and data review should be done with the objective of determining a better understanding of the problem. The activities associated with the study would be to identify existing pesticide and water studies on the area, determine which studies were ongoing in nature, compile relevant water quality and pesticide use information, identify gaps in the knowledge or areas where additional information would complement and enhance existing data and produce recommendations for action that will aid in the development of effective remedial measures.