Groundwater Vulnerability to Pesticide Pollution in a Semi-Arid Agricultural Basin and Electrocoagulation-Based Mitigation

This study investigates the occurrence and electrochemical removal of four commonly used pesticides—lufenuron, ethoprophos, dichlobenil, and picloram—from groundwater in a semi-arid agricultural basin in Southeastern Türkiye. Groundwater samples were collected from two locations within the study area. At the first sampling site, pesticide concentrations were 0.54 µg/L (lufenuron), 0.14 µg/L (ethoprophos), 0.38 µg/L (dichlobenil), and 0.61 µg/L (picloram), while corresponding values at the second site were 0.48 µg/L, 0.42 µg/L, 0.26 µg/L, and 0.17 µg/L, respectively. An electrocoagulation (EC) process employs aluminum electrodes. Following electrocoagulation treatment, the concentrations of all target pesticides were reduced to levels below the European Union drinking water limit for individual pesticides (0.1 µg/L), as defined by Directive (EU) 2020/2184.