Endorheic lakes or terminal lakes are common in the intermountain west. These lakes have no natural outlet other than evaporation and slow infiltration, but receive water from precipitation and anthropogenic sources, such as treated wastewater which is released to rivers that terminate in such lakes. Poor removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) at wastewater treatment plants results in the potential for PPCPs accumulation in lake water and sediment. This study examined a suite of twelve PPCPs in soil, sediment and water of three terminal lakes receiving reclaimed wastewater and two lakes which were anthropogenically influenced but did not directly receive wastewater. The goal was to determine the extent of accumulation of PPCPs in terminal lakes. Initial results demonstrated that six out of twelve PPCPs (e.g., carbamazepine, DEET, diphenhydramine, primidone, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim) were present in all terminal lake water samples. Primidone and carbamazepine are sometimes used as wastewater tracers in the environment, and both were detected in all water samples, indicating the ubiquitous distribution of these compounds. Primidone ranged from 345-1509 ng/L in the reclaimed wastewater influenced terminal lake and was &lt;MDL to 360 ng/L in non-wastewater influenced lakes. A similar trend was observed with all other PPCPs being higher in reclaimed wastewater influenced terminal lakes as compared to non-wastewater influenced terminal lakes was observed. Ongoing research includes the quantification of these compounds in near-shore soil and sediments.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care product accumulation in terminal lakes receiving reclaimed wastewater

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.