Emerging contaminants in aquatic environments come from a variety of sources. Major contributors of these contaminants are wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). WWTP effluent to the environment depends on their influent loads from the population served. WWTP influent can be used to monitor contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and illicit drugs. Anthropogenic population biomarkers (PB) have been suggested as a means to more accurately estimate the number of people contributing to WWTP samples. Measurements of PBs provide a direct population estimate that can account for population flux within the catchment and dilution to sewage from outside sources. This paper will show the use of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), the main metabolite of serotonin, as a PB in influent samples from two WWTPs. Measured concentrations of 5-HIAA from WWTP samples show good agreement with population estimates. Additionally, 5-HIAA levels will be shown as a normalization factor to establish specific contaminant trends.

Using 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid as an anthropogenic population biomarker in wastewater treatment plant influent

249th National Meeting (2015)

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