Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world due to its relevance in agricultural practices and urban lawncare. While this herbicide is prominent in various countries, it has been continuously surrounded by controversy for the past decade. With reports of potential dangers to human health, contradicting reports from government agencies, and lawsuits against the company Monsanto, the creator of Roundup whose key active ingredient is glyphosate, there is opinion-based literature and confusion among the public. There is a plethora of published literature discussing what glyphosate is and the potential dangers to the environment; however, there is minimal research on the effects glyphosate has on water quality through runoff in urban areas. This research is aimed to assess the presence of glyphosate and its degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in the waterways of Stillwater, OK. This is done by collecting water samples where runoff was present in urban areas. It is important to understand the presence of glyphosate in runoff to view the persistence of this chemical within waterways and different environments. Keywords: glyphosate, AMPA, water quality, runoff, controversy, samples
