Effects-based monitoring of bioactive chemicals discharged to the Colorado River before and after a municipal wastewater treatment plant replacement
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Open Access Version: External Repository
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Monitoring of the Colorado River near the Moab, Utah, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outflow has detected pharmaceuticals, hormones, and estrogen-receptor (ER)-, glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ)-mediated biological activities. The aim of the present multi-year study was to assess effects of a WWTP replacement on bioactive chemical (BC) concentrations. Water samples were collected bimonthly, pre- and post-replacement, at 11 sites along the Colorado River upstream and downstream of the WWTP and analyzed for in vitro bioactivities (e.g., agonism of ER, GR, and PPARγ) and BC concentrations; fathead minnows were cage deployed pre- and post-replacement at sites with varying proximities to the WWTP. Before the WWTP replacement, in vitro ER (24 ng 17β-estradiol equivalents/L)-, GR (60 ng dexamethasone equivalents/L)-, and PPARγ-mediated activities were detected at the WWTP outflow but diminished downstream. In March 2018, the WWTP effluent was acutely toxic to the fish, likely due to elevated ammonia concentrations. Following the WWTP replacement, ER, GR, and PPARγ bioactivities were reduced by approximately 60–79%, no toxicity was observed in caged fish, and there were marked decreases in concentrations of many BCs. Results suggest that replacement of the Moab WWTP achieved a significant reduction in BC concentrations to the Colorado River.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Effects-based monitoring of bioactive chemicals discharged to the Colorado River before and after a municipal wastewater treatment plant replacement |
| Series title | Environmental Science and Technology |
| DOI | 10.1021/acs.est.0c05269 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society |
| Contributing office(s) | South Atlantic Water Science Center |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 974 |
| Last page | 984 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| City | Moab |
| Other Geospatial | Colorado River |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |