Assessment of wastewater and recycled water quality: A comparison of lines of evidence from in vitro, in vivo and chemical analyses

Abstract

We investigated water quality at an advanced water reclamation plant and three conventional wastewater treatment plants using an "ecotoxicity toolbox" consisting of three complementary analyses (chemical analysis, in vitro bioanalysis and in situ biological monitoring), with a focus on endocrine disruption. The in vitro bioassays were chosen to provide an appropriately wide coverage of biological effects relevant to managed aquifer recharge and environmental discharge of treated wastewater, and included bioassays for bacterial toxicity (Microtox), genotoxicity (umuC), photosynthesis inhibition (Max-I-PAM) and endocrine effects (E-SCREEN and AR-CALUX). Chemical analysis of hormones and pesticides using LCMSMS was performed in parallel to correlate standard analytical methods with the in vitro assessment. For two plants with surface water discharge into open drains, further field work was carried out to examine in situ effects using mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) as a bioindicator species for possible endocrine effects. The results show considerable cytotoxicity, phytotoxicity, estrogenicity and androgenicity in raw sewage, all of which were significantly reduced by conventional wastewater treatment. No biological response was detected to RO water, suggesting that reverse osmosis is a significant barrier to biologically active compounds. Chemical analysis and in situ monitoring revealed trends consistent with the in vitro results: chemical analysis confirmed the removal trends observed by the bioanalytical tools, and in situ sampling did not reveal any evidence of endocrine disruption specifically due to discharge of treated wastewater (although other sources may be present). Biomarkers of exposure (in vitro) and effect (in vivo or in situ) are complementary and together provide information with a high level of ecological relevance. This study illustrates the utility of combining multiple lines of evidence in the assessment of water quality.

Effect-based trigger values for in vitro bioassays: Reading across from existing water quality guideline values

“…Thus all samples were below the EBT-TTEQ of 14 ng/L. Previous studies have likewise reported no androgenic activity in treated water such as drinking or recycled water Leusch et al, 2014aLeusch et al, , 2014bVan der Linden et al, 2008).…”

Nutrient and trace organic contaminant removal from wastewater of a resort town: Comparison between a pilot and a full scale membrane bioreactor

“…There are only a few studies reporting the TrOC profile of raw sewage generated from small towns in Australia (Le-Minh et al, 2010;Trinh et al, 2012b;Leusch et al, 2014;Scott et al, 2014). Thus a critical discussion regarding the frequency and concentration of the TrOCs detected in the influent wastewater is necessary to facilitate assessment of the TrOC removal capacity of the MBRs.…”

“…Several studies have assessed the occurrence of TrOCs in wastewater originating from various catchment areas including agricultural, rural, urban and industrial wastewater catchments Scott et al, 2014) and the treated effluent produced by various types and scales of WWTPs (Coleman et al, 2008;Ying et al, 2009;Leusch et al, 2014). However, only a few studies reported the TrOC profile of raw sewage generated from small Australian towns (Braga et al, 2005;Coleman et al, 2008;Leusch et al, 2014), particularly those which are tourist destinations (Le-Minh et al, 2010;Trinh et al, 2012b). Wastewater from small resort towns can have distinct characteristics in terms of volume of wastewater produced and also the frequency and concentration in which TrOCs may occur.…”

Short-term exposure to municipal wastewater influences energy, growth, and swimming performance in juvenile Empire Gudgeons (Hypseleotris compressa)

“…Samples were also collected and analyzed for a range of commonly occurring endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and herbicides according to previously described methodologies (Tan et al, 2007;Reungoat et al, 2010;Leusch et al, 2014). The full list of analyzed compounds comprises 116 chemicals in the Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (QHFSS) EDC, PPCP and herbicide screening suites, and is provided in the supplementary material (Supplementary Table 1).…”