Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:103–112 DOI 10.1007/s10661-011-1950-9 Organochlorine pesticide residues in drinking water in the rural areas of Haryana, India C. P. Kaushik · H. R. Sharma · A. Kaushik Received: 14 July 2010 / Accepted: 9 February 2011 / Published online: 17 March 2011 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Drinking water samples collected from rural areas of three districts of Haryana dur- ing pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods were analysed for the presence of organochlorine pes- ticide residues. The main source of drinking wa- ter in rural areas, i.e. groundwater in Ambala and Gurgaon districts and surface water supply in Hisar district, was found to be contaminated with isomers of HCH and endosulfan and metabolites of DDT, whereas dieldrin remained below detec- tion limits. During the study period, the mean val- ues observed for total HCH, DDT and endosulfan were 87.6, 848.2, and 27.4 ng/L and 99.8, 275.3 and 164.2 ng/L, respectively, for Ambala and Gurgaon districts. In the case of Hisar district, the values C. P. Kaushik (B ) · H. R. Sharma · A. Kaushik Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar-125 001, Haryana, India e-mail: cpkaushik@rediffmail.com Present Address: H. R. Sharma Department of Environmental Health, University of Gondar, P.O. Box No. 196, Gondar, Ethiopia e-mail: hrsharma74@yahoo.co.in, sharmahardeeprai@gmail.com were 78.5, 115.9, and 53.0 ng/L, respectively. Dur- ing the study period, 37% of the samples exceeded the total pesticide level of 500 ng/L indicated in the EECD directive for drinking water. Seasonal variations of pesticide residues were also observed during the study period. Keywords Organochlorines · Pesticide residues · Groundwater · Surface water · Drinking water · Rural areas Introduction Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) find their use in agriculture against pests. These are also used in household, garbage heaps, waste disposal sites, sewers, godowns, etc. Their use increases many folds during natural calamities, fairs and out- breaks of epidemics. These pesticides may enter into ground and surface water through diffused and point sources. Large intake of water contam- inated with low levels of pesticide residues may cause significant effects in consumers (Nair and Pillai 1992), i.e. risk to human health, and alter- ation of local environment. Lipid solubility and bioaccumulation of low concentrations of OCPs in the body fat of mammals pose potential hazards in the long term. India is the largest producer of pesticides in South Asia and Haryana state stands in the