Point Source Contamination via Sprayer Cleaning Water Dispersal: A Northern Italian Vineyard Area Case Study to increase local farmers’ awareness

Point source contamination by pesticides is a problem of increasing concern and represents an important threat due to the potential adverse effects of these substances on the non-target organisms of soil and natural water resources. Point source contamination could occur as a result of spillages, leakages, and mismanagement of pesticide-contaminated water produced during in-farm and post-farm activities. This type of contamination is difficult to manage due to its context specific nature, strongly linked to the environment and socio-economic factors of the places where they occur and that influence farmers’ behavior and their compliance to Best Management Practices (Belmans et al.2018, Calliera et al,2021). In order to evaluate the relevance of the impact of wastewater resulting from the cleaning operations or fitosanitray application equipment, to understand the farmers awareness level regarding the environmental impact of in farm point source contamination, and to contribute to the effective implementation of best management practices and mitigation measures for protecting natural water resources, a participatory monitoring campaign was addressed in the framework of a Rural Development Program (RDP) project of Piemonte Region, northern Italy, called VITA -Viticoltura Armoniosa, in an area characterized by an intensive viticulture production. In particular, the study aimed to increase local farmers awareness and to understand limits and bottlenecks in adopting behavioral and technical preventive solutions.