Occurrence of Endocrine-Disrupting and Other Wastewater Compounds during Water Treatment with Case Studies from Lincoln, Nebraska and Berlin, Germany Ingrid M. Verstraeten 1 ; Thomas Heberer 2 ; Jason R. Vogel 3 ; Thomas Speth 4 ; Sebastian Zuehlke 5 ; and Uwe Duennbier 6 Abstract: Research on the fate and transport of endocrine-disrupting compounds and other organic wastewater compounds released into the environment and their potential presence in drinking water is in its infancy. Studies conducted during the last decade in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Berlin, Germany, indicate that removal of less polar compounds probably can be obtained through bank filtration, ground-water enrichment, and additional drinking-water and wastewater treatment processes. Polar compounds, such as atrazine and some metabolites, occur in drinking water obtained from contaminated surface water or ground water, but at concentrations generally lower than those occurring in wastewater and surface water. The results of the studies also suggest that concentrations of nonpolar estrogenic compounds decrease during drinking-water pretreatment processes such as bank filtration and ground-water enrichment. DOI: 10.1061/ASCE1090-025X20037:4253 CE Database subject headings: Organic compounds; Potable water; Water treatment; Nebraska; Germany. Introduction Alluvial aquifers, which tend to have high transmissivities and hydraulic conductivities, can be sources of drinking water near large streams. Bank filtration is the term used to refer to the indirect capture of surface water mixed with ground water by supply wells along rivers or lakes Kuehn and Mueller 2000; Tufenkji et al. 2002; Galloway et al. 2003. Gollnitz et al. 1997 indicated that maximum infiltration at bank-filtration sites will occur during periods of high streamflow when permeability in- creases because of scouring, the wetted area of the streambed becomes larger, and head difference increases between surface water and ground water. Bank filtration is an inexpensive and often sustainable means of pretreatment of drinking water derived from the conjunctive use of poor-quality surface water with varying amounts of ground water Tufenkji et al. 2002; Galloway et al. 2003. Given suffi- cient underground travel times, bank filtration can aid in provid- ing a potable drinking-water supply that is less prone to contami- nation, through attenuation and other chemical and physical processes Verstraeten et al. 2003. However, additional drinking- water treatment may be necessary to remove recalcitrant contami- nants Verstraeten et al. 2003 that exceed the existing or potential future maximum contaminant levels MCLs for public drinking- water supplies in the United States U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency 1998a,b; 2002b. In addition, chemicals can travel along preferred flow paths at higher concentrations and velocities than would be expected in a homogeneous medium Alley et al. 2002. Organic compounds, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, complexing agents, amines, sulfonamides, and aromatic sul- fonates and their polar metabolites—hydroxyl and carboxyl groups—can be transported from a riverine environment into ground water and into a drinking-water supply Verstraeten et al. 2002. Fate and transport of endocrine-disrupting compounds EDCs depend on hydrologic conditions and on physical, chemical, and biological processes in the aquifer Verstraeten et al. 2002. Ad- vective transport, hydrodynamic dispersion, precipitation, sorption/desorption, filtration, biotic and abiotic degradation, volatilization, and other types of transport and transformation can lead to retardation or even complete removal of anthropogenic compounds. Removal efficiencies of contaminants including EDCs during bank filtration can vary significantly Verstraeten et al. 2002. Sorption depends on the structure and position of functional groups of the sorbate, the degree of molecular unsat- uration of the sorbent, the chemical characteristics of the sorbate, mineralogical composition, organic matter content, cation ex- change capacity, microbial activity of the sorbent, duration of substance influx, infiltration velocity, particle transport, residence 1 U.S. Geological Survey, 8987 Yellow Brick Rd, Baltimore, MD 21237. E-mail: imverstr@usgs.gov 2 Institute of Food Chemistry, Technical Univ. of Berlin, Sekr. TIB4/ 3-1, Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25, 13355 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: thomas.heberer@tu-berlin.de 3 U.S. Geological Survey, Rm 406 Fed. Bldg, Lincoln, NE 68508. E-mail: jvogel@usgs.gov 4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Supply and Water Resources Division, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268. E-mail: Speth.Thomas@epa.gov 5 Institute of Food Chemistry, Technical Univ. of Berlin, Sekr. TIB4/ 3-1, Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25, 13355 Berlin, Germany, and Berlin Water Company, Dept. of Laboratories, Motardstrasse 35, 13629 Berlin, Germany. 6 Berlin Water Company, Dept. of Laboratories, Motardstrasse 35, 13629 Berlin, Germany. Note. Discussion open until March 1, 2004. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on June 9, 2003; approved on June 9, 2003. This paper is part of the Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, October 1, 2003. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090-025X/ 2003/4-253–263/$18.00. PRACTICE PERIODICAL OF HAZARDOUS, TOXIC, AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT © ASCE / OCTOBER 2003 / 253 Pract. Period. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste Manage. 2003.7:253-263. Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Oklahoma State University on 12/20/13. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.