Evidencing that improvements to wastewater treatment and use of fate models protect sources of drinking water

我的研究计划旨在通过改进废水处理技术、评估CECs的影响和评估CECs的暴露来保护我们的水资源。由我正在进行的探索基金支持的工作提供了充分的证据，表明废水排放中存在新出现的令人关注的污染物(CECs)，这是地表水污染的一个重要点源。我们的工作还表明，先进的处理技术可以显著降低处理后废水中的CECs浓度。与我的研究计划一致，由NSERC发现拨款计划支持的这项研究的具体目标是提供证据，证明通过在废水处理系统中增加处理步骤，如传统或新型臭氧技术，并使用模型来确定接收溪流中CEC的命运，可以保护饮用水来源的质量。为实现这一目标，将对利用先进技术提供的CECs和生物活性化合物的额外清除量进行量化，然后对这些CECs在接收到饮用水处理厂进水点之前的水流中的去向和运输进行建模。将使用现有的建模工具，如PhATE模型，对CEC在接收水域的运输和命运进行预测。为了校准这些模型，我们将采用在河流中进行的现场电导率测量，这是我们最近应用的一种方法，用于改进采样策略和CEC清除量的计算。该模型将通过现场数据得到验证，并将应用于我们在过去五年中开发的一系列指示性化合物，其中包括来自不同类别的污染物，并显示微生物、氧化和光解过程以及分配过程中清除量的变化。然而，考虑到废水及其转化产物中存在各种各样的CEC，优化技术或基于对特定化学品的监测来监管排放可能并不是最佳的。生物分析方法，如体外生物分析，将作为化学分析的补充，以监测已知和未知生物活性物质的去除情况，并评估流出物对接收溪流中生物活性的贡献。更好地了解饮用水水源受到污染的可能性，将有助于监管机构评估废水中存在CECs的风险，并制定适当的准则和条例。这些研究还将证明，对高级处理技术的投资可以在保护下游饮用水来源方面产生直接好处。将分析、生物分析和建模方法结合起来，将为水资源管理和饮用水水源保护提供一种工具。

My research program aims at protecting our water resources by improving wastewater treatment technologies, assessing the effect of CECs and assessing exposure to CECs. Work supported by my on-going Discovery Grant has provided ample evidence that contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are present in wastewater discharges, a significant point source of contamination of surface waters. Our work has also demonstrated that advanced treatment technologies can significantly reduce the concentrations of CECs in treated effluents. In alignment with my research program, the specific objective of the research proposed for support by the NSERC Discovery Grants program is to provide evidence that by adding treatment steps, such as conventional or novel ozonation technologies, to the wastewater treatment train and using models to determine fate of CECs in receiving streams can protect the quality of sources of drinking water. This objective will be addressed by quantifying the additional removals of CECs and bioactive compounds provided by using advanced technologies, and then modeling the fate and transport of these CECs in receiving streams up to the point of intake into drinking water treatment plants. Predictions of the transport and fate of CECs in receiving waters will be made using existing modeling tools, such as the PhATE model. To calibrate these models, we will apply electro-conductivity measurements made in situ in rivers, a method that we have recently applied to improve sampling strategies and calculation of CEC removals. The model will be validated with field data and will be applied to a list of indicators compounds that we have developed over the last five years, that includes contaminants from various classes and showing variations in removals by microbial, oxidative and photolytic processes, as well as by partitioning. However, given the wide variety of CECs present in wastewater along with their transformation products, optimizing technologies or regulating discharges based on monitoring for specific chemicals may not be optimal. Bioanalytical methods, such as in vitro bioassays, will be used as a complement to chemical analysis to monitor the removal of known and unknown bioactive substances and evaluate the contribution of the effluent to biological activity in receiving streams. A better understanding of the potential for contamination of drinking water sources will help regulatory agencies assess the risks associated with the presence of CECs in wastewater effluent and to put in place appropriate guidelines and regulations. These studies will also demonstrate that investment in advanced treatment technologies can have a direct benefit in terms of protecting downstream sources of drinking water. Combining analytical, bioanalytical and modeling approaches will provide a tool for water resource management and protection of sources of drinking water.