Natural processes in stream ecosystems such as dilution and microbial degradation are known to attenuate some contaminants to below levels that can cause harm to ecosystems. However, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists has shown that many chemicals discharged from municipal wastewater treatment facilities persist for miles downstream at levels known, or suspected, to cause adverse health impacts to aquatic organisms—including endocrine disruption in fish. The study also showed that these persistent chemicals occur in complex mixtures with unknown ecological consequences.
The results, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of a long-term study of the fate, transport, and ecological effects of the wastewater discharged into two streams (Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa) from municipal wastewater treatment plants. In a unique field application, the scientists used a sampling approach that involved multiple locations along the streams (Lagrangian) to ensure water samples and chemistry were representative of a parcel of water as it flowed downstream from the point of wastewater discharge. Many of the contaminants from the complex mixture of multiple types of chemicals (see text box) showed little decrease in concentration, other than that due to dilution, as they flowed down the approximately 6- to 8-mile segments of the streams studied. Importantly, some of these contaminants persisted at concentrations that are known, or suspected, to cause sublethal health effects to exposed organisms. Furthermore, several chemicals in the complex mixtures identified in this study are steroidal hormones and/or other chemicals that mimic estrogen, which could have additive health effects. The ecological consequences of the complex contaminant mixtures the scientists identified are poorly understood.
The Complex Mixture
Overall, there were 73 organic chemicals detected in the effluent from the Boulder, Colorado, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and 56 chemicals detected in Boulder Creek stream water below the WWTP discharge point. There were 98 organic chemicals detected in the effluent from the Ankeny, Iowa, WWTP and 71 chemicals detected in Fourmile Creek below the WWTP discharge point.
The mixtures contained metal complexing agents, detergent degradation products, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, steroidal hormones, pesticides, and other compounds. The highest concentration compounds (greater than 100 micrograms per liter) detected in both WWTP effluents were ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA – a metal complexing agent) and 4- nonylphenolethoxycarboxylate (a detergent degradation product).
Concentrations of pharmaceuticals were lower (less than 1 microgram per liter), and several compounds, including carbamazepine (a drug used to control seizures) and sulfamethoxazole (an antibiotic), were detected throughout sections of the two streams that were studied.
This study was funded by the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and Hydrologic Research and Development Program. Additional support was received by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Sources of Contaminants to Congaree National Park—USGS and National Park Service Working Together
Study Highlights the Complexity of Chemical Mixtures in United States Streams
Recovery of Stream and Adjacent Groundwater After Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure
Complex Mixtures, Complex Responses—Using Comprehensive Approaches to Assess Pharmaceutical Effects on Fish
Long-Term Study Finds Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Urban Waterways
Assessing Environmental Chemical Mixtures in United States Streams
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Persist Downstream from the Source
Chemicals Found in Treated Wastewater are Transported from Streams to Groundwater
Pharmaceuticals and Other Chemicals Common in Landfill Waste
Neonicotinoid Insecticides Documented in Midwestern U.S. Streams
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Persistence and potential effects of complex organic contaminant mixtures in wastewater-impacted streams
Lagrangian sampling of wastewater treatment plant effluent in Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa, during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2005— Hydrological and water-quality data
Lagrangian mass-flow investigations of inorganic contaminants in wastewater-impacted streams
- Overview
Natural processes in stream ecosystems such as dilution and microbial degradation are known to attenuate some contaminants to below levels that can cause harm to ecosystems. However, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists has shown that many chemicals discharged from municipal wastewater treatment facilities persist for miles downstream at levels known, or suspected, to cause adverse health impacts to aquatic organisms—including endocrine disruption in fish. The study also showed that these persistent chemicals occur in complex mixtures with unknown ecological consequences.
A USGS scientist collecting a water-quality sample from Boulder Creek, Colorado. The scientist is following a set of protocols to ensure the water sample is representative of all the water flowing down the creek at sampling station. Photo credit: Jennifer Beck, USGS. The results, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of a long-term study of the fate, transport, and ecological effects of the wastewater discharged into two streams (Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa) from municipal wastewater treatment plants. In a unique field application, the scientists used a sampling approach that involved multiple locations along the streams (Lagrangian) to ensure water samples and chemistry were representative of a parcel of water as it flowed downstream from the point of wastewater discharge. Many of the contaminants from the complex mixture of multiple types of chemicals (see text box) showed little decrease in concentration, other than that due to dilution, as they flowed down the approximately 6- to 8-mile segments of the streams studied. Importantly, some of these contaminants persisted at concentrations that are known, or suspected, to cause sublethal health effects to exposed organisms. Furthermore, several chemicals in the complex mixtures identified in this study are steroidal hormones and/or other chemicals that mimic estrogen, which could have additive health effects. The ecological consequences of the complex contaminant mixtures the scientists identified are poorly understood.
The Complex Mixture
Overall, there were 73 organic chemicals detected in the effluent from the Boulder, Colorado, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and 56 chemicals detected in Boulder Creek stream water below the WWTP discharge point. There were 98 organic chemicals detected in the effluent from the Ankeny, Iowa, WWTP and 71 chemicals detected in Fourmile Creek below the WWTP discharge point.
The mixtures contained metal complexing agents, detergent degradation products, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, steroidal hormones, pesticides, and other compounds. The highest concentration compounds (greater than 100 micrograms per liter) detected in both WWTP effluents were ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA – a metal complexing agent) and 4- nonylphenolethoxycarboxylate (a detergent degradation product).
Concentrations of pharmaceuticals were lower (less than 1 microgram per liter), and several compounds, including carbamazepine (a drug used to control seizures) and sulfamethoxazole (an antibiotic), were detected throughout sections of the two streams that were studied.
This study was funded by the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and Hydrologic Research and Development Program. Additional support was received by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Science
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A new study highlights the complexity of chemical mixtures in streams and advances the understanding of wildlife and human exposure to complex chemical mixtures.Recovery of Stream and Adjacent Groundwater After Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure
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Landfill leachate contains a variety of chemicals that reflect our daily activities, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists concluded as a result of a nationwide study. Landfills are a common disposal mechanism for our Nation's solid waste from residential, commercial, and industrial sources. The scientists found that pharmaceuticals, personal-care products, and other contaminants of emerging...Neonicotinoid Insecticides Documented in Midwestern U.S. Streams
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Related publications listed below.
Persistence and potential effects of complex organic contaminant mixtures in wastewater-impacted streams
Natural and synthetic organic contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can cause ecosystem impacts, raising concerns about their persistence in receiving streams. In this study, Lagrangian sampling, in which the same approximate parcel of water is tracked as it moves downstream, was conducted at Boulder Creek, Colorado and Fourmile Creek, Iowa to determine in-stream trAuthorsLarry B. Barber, Steffanie H. Keefe, Greg K. Brown, Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael T. Meyer, Mark W. Sandstrom, Steven D. ZauggLagrangian sampling of wastewater treatment plant effluent in Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa, during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2005— Hydrological and water-quality data
This report presents methods and data for a Lagrangian sampling investigation into chemical loading and in-stream attenuation of inorganic and organic contaminants in two wastewater treatment-plant effluent-dominated streams: Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa. Water-quality sampling was timed to coincide with low-flow conditions when dilution of the wastewater treatment-plant effluAuthorsLarry B. Barber, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin, Douglas J. Schnoebelen, Jennifer L. Flynn, Gregory K. Brown, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, James L. Gray, Michael T. Meyer, Mark W. Sandstrom, Howard E. Taylor, Steven D. ZauggLagrangian mass-flow investigations of inorganic contaminants in wastewater-impacted streams
Understanding the potential effects of increased reliance on wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents to meet municipal, agricultural, and environmental flow requires an understanding of the complex chemical loading characteristics of the WWTPs and the assimilative capacity of receiving waters. Stream ecosystem effects are linked to proportions of WWTP effluent under low-flow conditions as wellAuthorsL. B. Barber, Ronald C. Antweiler, J.L. Flynn, S.H. Keefe, D.W. Kolpin, D.A. Roth, D.J. Schnoebelen, Howard E. Taylor, P. L. Verplanck