Drinking water vulnerability in less-populated communities in Texas to wastewater-derived contaminants
Drinking water vulnerability in less-populated communities in Texas to wastewater-derived contaminants
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DOI：
10.1038/s41545-019-0043-0
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发表时间：
2019-10
期刊：
影响因子：
11.4
通讯作者：
Thuy T. Nguyen;P. Westerhoff
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Thuy T. Nguyen;P. Westerhoff
事实上的饮用水再利用发生在处理后的废水被排放到饮用水处理厂（DWTP）的上游，并可能导致饮用水中出现新出现的污染物（CEC）。我们之前的研究，专注于美国各地每个服务超过10，000人的大型社区，表明德克萨斯州发生了事实上的重用（DFR），因此我们将服务于较小社区的DWTP模型添加到我们的模型中，以了解他们对CEC的脆弱性。在这里，我们表明，在德克萨斯州的所有地表水取水量的三分之二的影响DFR在水平超过90%，即使是轻度干旱，平均径流DFR水平范围在1%和20%之间。服务于低人口社区（<10，000人）的DWTP具有较高的DFR水平，并且只有不到2%的社区拥有先进技术（例如，臭氧、活性炭），以去除CEC。努力改善这些人口较少社区的水质是一个重要的优先事项。模型方法和结果可用于确定监测和治疗CEC的优先顺序，包括在服务不足的社区，通常缺乏对其流域内发生的DFR影响的了解。
De facto potable reuse occurs when treated wastewater is discharged upstream of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and can lead to contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) occurring in potable water. Our prior research, focusing on larger communities that each serve >10,000 people across the USA, indicates that elevated de facto reuse (DFR) occurs in Texas, and thus we added to our model DWTPs serving smaller communities to understand their vulnerability to CECs. Here, we show that two-thirds of all surface water intakes in Texas were impacted by DFR at levels exceeding 90% during even mild droughts, and under average streamflow DFR levels range between 1 and 20%. DWTPs serving lower population communities (<10,000 people) have higher DFR levels, and fewer than 2% of these communities have advanced technologies (e.g., ozone, activated carbon) at DWTPs to remove CECs. Efforts to improve water quality in these less populated communities are an important priority. The model approach and results can be used to identify prioritization for monitoring and treatment of CECs, including in underserved communities, which normally lack knowledge of their impacts from DFR occurring within their watersheds.