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The use of multiple tracers for tracking wastewater discharges in freshwater systems

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Abstract

The assessment of potential impacts of wastewater effluent discharges in freshwater systems requires an understanding of the likely degrees of dilution and potential zones of influence. In this study, four tracers commonly present in wastewater effluents were monitored to compare their relative effectiveness in determining areas in freshwater systems that are likely to be impacted by effluent discharges. The four tracers selected were the human pharmaceutical carbamazepine, anthropogenic gadolinium, fluorescent-dissolved organic matter (fDOM), and electrical conductivity (EC). The four tracers were monitored longitudinally in two distinct freshwater systems receiving wastewater effluents, where one site had a high level of effluent dilution (effluent <1 % of total flow) and the other site had a low level of effluent dilution (effluent ∼50 % of total flow). At both sites, the selected tracers exhibited a similar pattern of response intensity downstream of discharge points relative to undiluted wastewater effluent, although a number of anomalies were noted between the tracers. Both EC and fDOM are non-specific to human influences, and both had a high background response, relative to the highly sensitive carbamazepine and anthropogenic gadolinium responses, although the ease of measuring EC and fDOM would make them more adaptable in highly variable systems. However, the greater sensitivity and selectivity of carbamazepine and gadolinium would make their combination with EC and fDOM as tracers of wastewater effluent discharges highly desirable to overcome potential limitations of individual tracers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the technical assistance provided by Hai Doan, Debra Gonzago, and Adrienne Gregg (CSIRO). The authors would like to thank the WWTP operators for allowing access to their sites and assisting in sample collection. This project was funded by the National Water Commission (Australia).

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  1. Christoph Ort

    Present address: Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO, Centre for Environmental Contaminants, Waite Campus, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 5064

    Mike Williams, Anupama Kumar & Rai Kookana

  2. The University of Queensland Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC), St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4072

    Christoph Ort & Michael G. Lawrence

  3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2052

    Adam Hambly & Stuart J. Khan

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  1. Mike Williams
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Correspondence to Mike Williams.

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Williams, M., Kumar, A., Ort, C. et al. The use of multiple tracers for tracking wastewater discharges in freshwater systems. Environ Monit Assess 185, 9321–9332 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3254-8

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