Assessment of Endocrine‐Disrupting Chemicals Attenuation in a Coastal Plain Stream Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Closure

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a combined pre/post‐closure assessment at a long‐term wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) site at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia. Here, we assess select endocrine‐active chemicals and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure prior to closure of the WWTP. Substantial downstream transport and limited instream attenuation of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was observed in Spirit Creek over a 2.2‐km stream segment downstream of the WWTP outfall. A modest decline (less than 20% in all cases) in surface water detections was observed with increasing distance downstream of the WWTP and attributed to partitioning to the sediment. Estrogens detected in surface water in this study included estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). The 5 ng/l and higher mean estrogen concentrations observed in downstream locations indicated that the potential for endocrine disruption was substantial. Concentrations of alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) metabolite EDCs also remained statistically elevated above levels observed at the upstream control site. Wastewater‐derived pharmaceutical and APE metabolites were detected in the outflow of Spirit Lake, indicating the potential for EDC transport to aquatic ecosystems downstream of Fort Gordon. The results indicate substantial EDC occurrence, downstream transport, and persistence under continuous supply conditions and provide a baseline for a rare evaluation of ecosystem response to WWTP closure.

Effect of Wastewater Treatment Facility Closure on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in a Coastal Plain Stream

“…The Fort Gordon WWTF began operation in 1941. Preclosure, WWTF‐discharge ranged from 0.06 m 3 /s to 0.08 m 3 /s during 2009 to 2011, representing approximately 20 percent of downstream flow, with an interquartile range of 13 percent to 26 percent and a total range of 341 percent of downstream flow (Bradley & Journey, ).…”

“…Equal‐width increment (EWI) composite surface water samples (preclosure n = 12; postclosure n = 8) were collected approximately every two months in the Spirit Creek watershed (SC‐1, MC‐1, SC‐2, and SC‐4), with approximately 67 percent of samples collected during stable, nonrunoff conditions, as described in Bradley and Journey (). Beginning in August 2011, EWI surface water samples were collected from SC‐5 (preclosure n = 1; postclosure n = 8) to assess the potential for contaminant transport downstream of Spirit Lake.…”

“…Streambed sediment samples (preclosure n = 11, except n = 1 at SC‐5; postclosure n = 7) were collected from depositional areas, concurrent with stream water samples as described in Bradley and Journey (). Wastewater indicator compounds (57 analytes) were assessed in bed sediment by pressurized solvent extraction with capillary‐column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Burkhardt et al., ).…”

“…The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a combined pre/postclosure assessment at a long‐term WWTF facility operated in the Spirit Creek Coastal Plain watershed of the Fort Gordon U.S. Army base near Augusta, Georgia. The preclosure assessment (Bradley & Journey, ) demonstrated persistence, substantial downstream transport, and the potential for offsite migration of wastewater EDC contamination. Herein, we present summary results for selected EDC in water and sediment matrices, following closure of the WWTF.…”

Pre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater-facility-impacted stream reach

“…Pharmaceuticals are of particular concern due to: 1) relative solubility and high mobility in aqueous environments compared with many other wastewater contaminants; 2) designed high bioactivities and biorecalcitrance; and 3) a wide range of potential ecological endpoints including, toxicity (Han et al, 2006;Oliveira et al, 2015;Quinn et al, 2008;Rosi-Marshall et al, 2013;Xie et al, 2016), endocrine disruption (Kidd et al, 2007;Niemuth et al, 2015;Painter et al, 2009;Vajda et al, 2008), immuno-modulation (Canesi et al, 2007;Gust et al, 2013), antibiotic resistance selection (Haack et al, 2012;Martinez, 2009), as well as cytotoxicity and mutagenesis (Buerge et al, 2006;Johnson et al, 2008). Downstream transport and fate of wastewater contaminants including pharmaceuticals are intensively studied in fluvial systems (see for example, Acuña et al, 2015;Barber et al, 2013;Bradley et al, 2009;Bradley et al, 2007;Bradley and Journey, 2014;Brown et al, 2009;Dong et al, 2015;Fono et al, 2006;Kunkel and Radke, 2011;Lin et al, 2006;Radke et al, 2010;Writer et al, 2012). Surface-water/groundwater contaminant exchange and the fate of surface-water-derived groundwater contaminants, however, are poorly understood in comparison; a critical scientific data gap given the global importance of subsurface freshwater supplies (Oelkers et al, 2011;Schwartz and Ibaraki, 2011;U.S.…”