MACRO-DB and VERBER

MACRO-DB

MACRO-DB is a web-based two-step risk assessment tool for pesticide transport from a field to surface and groundwater. In Sweden, permits are required for pesticide use within water abstraction zones. MACRO-DB is used by farmers in their applications to the local authorities. It is an easy-to-use model that account for site-specific conditions and run on widely available input data.

MACRO-DB v 5.0 is a meta model of the MACRO model and is based on 583,200 pre-run simulations. The scenarios simulated are a combination of:

• 150 hypothetical substances; (varying half-life (DT50), adsorption strength (Koc) and Freundlich coefficients)
• 72 soil types (combination of parent material, texture and humus content)
• 18 climate zones with associated weather series (26 years with daily values ​​of precipitation and evaporation)
• 3 spraying seasons (spring, summer, autumn)

Based on substance properties concentrations of the actual substances in the leakage to the groundwater and to the drainage system are estimated by 3D interpolation of the stored results for hypothetical substances.

The meta model and a new user interface was developed by knoell Germany GmbH in collaboration with CKB and with co-financing from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.

• Lindahl, A., Reichenberger, S., Pohlert, T., Multsch, S., Boström, B., Gönczi, M., Stenemo, F., Kreuger, J., Markensten, H. & Jarvis, N. 2024. A web-based pesticide risk assessment tool for drinking water protection zones in Sweden. Journal of Environmental Management 357 (2024) 120700. doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120700.
• Poster 2024: MACRO-DB - A pesticide risk assessment tool for drinking water protection zones in Sweden 

VERBER 

VERBER is a tool for regional risk assessments for surface water and groundwater in Sweden. This tool can be used, for example, for impact analysis and risk assessment within the EU Water Framwork Directive.

VERBER for surface water

For surface water, the tool predicts average concentrations of pesticides (active substance) at the outlet of the catchments for lakes and watercourses. The model combines a relatively simple mass balance model with a classification tree (based on Swedish environmental monitoring data) to estimate the proportion of an applied pesticide that is transported from arable land to surface water based on hydrological properties of soils, pesticide properties and application season. VERBER for surface water has been applied in Sweden on a national scale on two occasions so far.

Impact analysis

A beta version of the tool was applied in 2024 to provide data for the Swedish Water Authority's impact analysis of surface water bodies for nine herbicides (PRIO and RBSP substances and two substances that risk exceeding the limit value for drinking water) permitted for spreading on fields in Sweden. Predicted average concentrations exceeded limit values ​​for annual averages in surface water in 1% of Sweden's sub-catchments.

Selection of monitoring stations

The tool was applied in 2025 to provide the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management with data for selecting locations for environmental monitoring of water bodies under diffuse impact of pesticides from agriculture. CKB is developing a proposal for a screening program based on the results from VERBER on behalf of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and in dialogue with the county administrative boards. The screening is planned to be carried out in 2027.

VERBER for groundwater

In the case of groundwater, the meta-model developed for MACRO-DB will form the basis of the tool. The development of VERBER for groundwater is planned to be completed in 2027.

Please contact us for more information about the tools.