Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic
The application of innovative technologies in water management, such as wastewater reuse, requires a deeper understanding of emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals. This study presents a unique pilot site at Horní Beřkovice in Central Bohemia, where wastewater parameters are significantly in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2017-03-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/3/218 |
| _version_ | 1811310731810832384 |
|---|---|
| author | David Rozman Zbyněk Hrkal Miroslav Váňa Jan Vymazal Zuzana Boukalová |
| author_facet | David Rozman Zbyněk Hrkal Miroslav Váňa Jan Vymazal Zuzana Boukalová |
| author_sort | David Rozman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The application of innovative technologies in water management, such as wastewater reuse, requires a deeper understanding of emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals. This study presents a unique pilot site at Horní Beřkovice in Central Bohemia, where wastewater parameters are significantly influenced by the effluent from a local psychiatric hospital, and where the treated wastewater infiltrates into a shallow aquifer over a long period. The survey compared the quality parameters of local wastewater with those of the wastewater in four other catchments with no sources of concentrated pharmaceutical contamination. A total of 10 pharmaceuticals were detected while monitoring a common sewage system, but their number increased 3-fold at Horní Beřkovice. The water quality data revealed the effectiveness of the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater at the local sewage treatment plant and tracked the fate of substances that move from the treatment plant into the recharge ponds and then gradually into groundwater. The findings showed a significant decrease in all the monitored micropollutants that remained bound in sediments and in the unsaturated zone. Their passage into groundwater was highly reduced, and they virtually disappear after a few hundred meters in the saturated zone. The only exception is carbamazepine. This substance passes through the treatment technology and unsaturated zone. It systematically appears in the groundwater samples collected about 1 km from the infiltration site. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:05:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-563b4846f39e4cebbdacce3cd91eccff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:05:28Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-563b4846f39e4cebbdacce3cd91eccff2022-12-22T02:51:08ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412017-03-019321810.3390/w9030218w9030218Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech RepublicDavid Rozman0Zbyněk Hrkal1Miroslav Váňa2Jan Vymazal3Zuzana Boukalová4T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Podbabská 2582/30, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech RepublicT.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Podbabská 2582/30, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech RepublicT.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Podbabská 2582/30, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech RepublicFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21 Prague 6, Czech RepublicVodní Zdroje a.s., Jindřicha Plachty 16, 150 00 Prague 5, Czech RepublicThe application of innovative technologies in water management, such as wastewater reuse, requires a deeper understanding of emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals. This study presents a unique pilot site at Horní Beřkovice in Central Bohemia, where wastewater parameters are significantly influenced by the effluent from a local psychiatric hospital, and where the treated wastewater infiltrates into a shallow aquifer over a long period. The survey compared the quality parameters of local wastewater with those of the wastewater in four other catchments with no sources of concentrated pharmaceutical contamination. A total of 10 pharmaceuticals were detected while monitoring a common sewage system, but their number increased 3-fold at Horní Beřkovice. The water quality data revealed the effectiveness of the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater at the local sewage treatment plant and tracked the fate of substances that move from the treatment plant into the recharge ponds and then gradually into groundwater. The findings showed a significant decrease in all the monitored micropollutants that remained bound in sediments and in the unsaturated zone. Their passage into groundwater was highly reduced, and they virtually disappear after a few hundred meters in the saturated zone. The only exception is carbamazepine. This substance passes through the treatment technology and unsaturated zone. It systematically appears in the groundwater samples collected about 1 km from the infiltration site.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/3/218micropollutantspharmaceuticalswastewatergroundwaterinfiltration |
| spellingShingle | David Rozman Zbyněk Hrkal Miroslav Váňa Jan Vymazal Zuzana Boukalová Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic Water micropollutants pharmaceuticals wastewater groundwater infiltration |
| title | Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic |
| title_full | Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic |
| title_fullStr | Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic |
| title_short | Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater and Their Interaction with Shallow Aquifers: A Case Study of Horní Beřkovice, Czech Republic |
| title_sort | occurrence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and their interaction with shallow aquifers a case study of horni berkovice czech republic |
| topic | micropollutants pharmaceuticals wastewater groundwater infiltration |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/3/218 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidrozman occurrenceofpharmaceuticalsinwastewaterandtheirinteractionwithshallowaquifersacasestudyofhorniberkoviceczechrepublic AT zbynekhrkal occurrenceofpharmaceuticalsinwastewaterandtheirinteractionwithshallowaquifersacasestudyofhorniberkoviceczechrepublic AT miroslavvana occurrenceofpharmaceuticalsinwastewaterandtheirinteractionwithshallowaquifersacasestudyofhorniberkoviceczechrepublic AT janvymazal occurrenceofpharmaceuticalsinwastewaterandtheirinteractionwithshallowaquifersacasestudyofhorniberkoviceczechrepublic AT zuzanaboukalova occurrenceofpharmaceuticalsinwastewaterandtheirinteractionwithshallowaquifersacasestudyofhorniberkoviceczechrepublic |