Improvements in Wastewater Treatment Reduces Endocrine Disruption in Fish
The Boulder Wastewater Treatment Facility, Colorado (circa 2005)
A team of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Colorado, and the City of Boulder, Colorado, demonstrated that improvements to the treatment process at a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) reduced the level of endocrine disruption in fish exposed to wastewater effluent discharged from the facility. It is difficult to anticipate the effects that upgrading WWTF operations might have on stream ecosystems. In a recent article in Environmental Science and Technology the scientists report on a multiyear experiment to evaluate the impact on wastewater quality of a major upgrade to the Boulder, Colorado, WWTF. The facility was converted from a biological filter plant with solids contact to an activated sludge plant.
What They Did
In 2005 and 2007 the scientists established the water-quality conditions and level of fish endocrine disruption in test organisms before the upgrade. A similar set of investigations was conducted in 2008 and 2011 to document conditions after the upgrade. The two studies evaluated a wide variety of organic and inorganic contaminants and tracked their concentrations through the various treatment processes. Fish endocrine disruption was measured during controlled, 28-day onsite continuous-flow exposure experiments using different dilutions of wastewater. The fish experiments used sexually mature male fathead minnows and multiple indicators of endocrine disruption (biomarkers).
What They Found
The scientists found that the WWTF upgrade resulted in enhanced removal of hormones (steroidal estrogens) and other endocrine disrupting compounds from the wastewater, as well as a decrease in fish endocrine disruption. This research was funded by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area’s Environmental Health Program (Contaminant Biology and Toxic Substances Hydrology) and Hydrologic Research and Development Programs, and the National Science Foundation.
References
Barber, L.B., Vajda, A.M., Douville, C., Norris, D.O., and Writer, J.H., 2012, Fish endocrine disruption responses to a major wastewater treatment facility upgrade: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 4, p. 2121-2131, doi:10.1021/es202880e.
Bradley, P.M., 2008, Potential for biodegradation of contaminants of emerging concern in streams systems, in Proceedings of the 2008 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, Charleston, S.C., October 14-15, 2008: (Presentation).
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Science Team
Biological Activity of Steroid Hormones in U.S. Streams
Chemical Combo and Intersex Fish Found at Smallmouth Bass Nesting Sites
Complex Mixture of Contaminants Persists in Streams Miles from the Source
Hormones in Land-Applied Biosolids Could Affect Aquatic Organisms
New Knowledge on the Fate and Transport of Emerging Contaminants in Rivers
Hormones Degrade in the Environment!
Antidepressants in Stream Waters! Are They in the Fish Too?
Tackling Fish Endocrine Disruption
Below are publications associated with this project.
Biodegradation of 17β-estradiol, estrone, and testosterone in stream sediments
Reproductive disruption in fish downstream from an estrogenic wastewater effluent
Potential for 4-n-nonylphenol biodegradation in stream sediments
Impairment of the reproductive potential of male fathead minnows by environmentally relevant exposures to 4-nonylphenolf
Reproductive responses of male fathead minnows exposed to wastewater treatment plant effluent, effluent treated with XAD8 resin, and an environmentally relevant mixture of alkylphenol compounds
State of the watershed: Water quality of Boulder Creek, Colorado
Larval exposure to environmentally relevant mixtures of alkylphenolethoxylates reduces reproductive competence in male fathead minnows
Chemical loading into surface water along a hydrological, biogeochemical, and land use gradient: A holistic watershed approach
Aqueous stability of gadolinium in surface waters receiving sewage treatment plant effluent Boulder Creek, Colorado
Comprehensive water quality of the Boulder Creek Watershed, Colorado, during high-flow and low-flow conditions, 2000
A team of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Colorado, and the City of Boulder, Colorado, demonstrated that improvements to the treatment process at a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) reduced the level of endocrine disruption in fish exposed to wastewater effluent discharged from the facility. It is difficult to anticipate the effects that upgrading WWTF operations might have on stream ecosystems. In a recent article in Environmental Science and Technology the scientists report on a multiyear experiment to evaluate the impact on wastewater quality of a major upgrade to the Boulder, Colorado, WWTF. The facility was converted from a biological filter plant with solids contact to an activated sludge plant.
What They Did
In 2005 and 2007 the scientists established the water-quality conditions and level of fish endocrine disruption in test organisms before the upgrade. A similar set of investigations was conducted in 2008 and 2011 to document conditions after the upgrade. The two studies evaluated a wide variety of organic and inorganic contaminants and tracked their concentrations through the various treatment processes. Fish endocrine disruption was measured during controlled, 28-day onsite continuous-flow exposure experiments using different dilutions of wastewater. The fish experiments used sexually mature male fathead minnows and multiple indicators of endocrine disruption (biomarkers).
What They Found
The scientists found that the WWTF upgrade resulted in enhanced removal of hormones (steroidal estrogens) and other endocrine disrupting compounds from the wastewater, as well as a decrease in fish endocrine disruption. This research was funded by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area’s Environmental Health Program (Contaminant Biology and Toxic Substances Hydrology) and Hydrologic Research and Development Programs, and the National Science Foundation.
References
Barber, L.B., Vajda, A.M., Douville, C., Norris, D.O., and Writer, J.H., 2012, Fish endocrine disruption responses to a major wastewater treatment facility upgrade: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 4, p. 2121-2131, doi:10.1021/es202880e.
Bradley, P.M., 2008, Potential for biodegradation of contaminants of emerging concern in streams systems, in Proceedings of the 2008 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, Charleston, S.C., October 14-15, 2008: (Presentation).
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Science Team
Biological Activity of Steroid Hormones in U.S. Streams
Chemical Combo and Intersex Fish Found at Smallmouth Bass Nesting Sites
Complex Mixture of Contaminants Persists in Streams Miles from the Source
Hormones in Land-Applied Biosolids Could Affect Aquatic Organisms
New Knowledge on the Fate and Transport of Emerging Contaminants in Rivers
Hormones Degrade in the Environment!
Antidepressants in Stream Waters! Are They in the Fish Too?
Tackling Fish Endocrine Disruption
Below are publications associated with this project.