Monitoring emerging contaminants in vernal pools impacted and unimpacted by wastewater irrigation using POCIS and grab sampling techniques

Authors: HAYDEN, KATHRYN - Pennsylvania State University; PRESISENDANZ, HEATHER - Pennsylvania State University; Elkin, Kyle; SALEH, LAURA - Pennsylvania State University; WEIKEL, JAMIE - Pennsylvania State University; Veith, Tameria - Tamie; ELLIOTT, HERSCHEL - Pennsylvania State University; WATSON, JOHN - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Science of the Total Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2021
Publication Date: 2/1/2022
Citation: Hayden, K.R., Presisendanz, H.E., Elkin, K.R., Saleh, L.B., Weikel, J., Veith, T.L., Elliott, H.A., Watson, J.E. 2022. Monitoring emerging contaminants in vernal pools impacted and unimpacted by wastewater irrigation using POCIS and grab sampling techniques. Science of the Total Environment. 806(2):0150607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150607.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150607

Interpretive Summary: With the increasingly beneficial reusage of treated wastewater globally, there is a need to understand how active ingredients in pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) can persist through the treatment process. By using passive samplers (small disks designed to sit in a surface waterbody for 2-4 weeks), in addition to grab samples, a host of PPCPs which interact with the disks were studied to assess the impacts of treated wastewater irrigation. When the two methods were compared, there were many cases where grab sampling did not show the presence of many contaminants which the passive samplers were able to capture. In most cases these results were the most pronounced with contaminants that persist over a longer period and tend to remain in the soil as opposed dissolving in water.

Technical Abstract: Active ingredients in pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) can persist through wastewater treatment plants and be released into the environment, where they can inadvertently pose risks to non-target organisms. Emerging contaminants (ECs), including PPCPs, are commonly detected in wastewater effluent. With the increasing beneficial re-use of treated wastewater globally, there is a need to understand how spray-irrigation activities affect the occurrence and persistence of ECs in the environment to which they are introduced. Here, we explore the impacts of wastewater spray-irrigation on nearby ephemeral wetlands (i.e., vernal pools), through the usage of grab and Polar Organic Integrative Sampling (POCIS) techniques. This study evaluated 34 ECs in six vernal pools in central Pennsylvania from spring to fall 2018, with three impacted by spray-irrigation activities in a mixed-use forested and agricultural setting and three in nearby forested State Game Lands. The goal of this study was to determine whether integrative sampling techniques are better suited than traditional grab sampling techniques to assess the presence of ECs in vernal pools. The results of this project help to advance understanding of the potential impact of wastewater beneficial reuse on vernal pools and inform how best to monitor the presence of ECs in vernal pools using integrative and grab sampling techniques.