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Frederiksen M, Mosthaf K, Bøllingtoft AB, Albers CN, Christensen BSB, Christophersen M, Tuxen N, Tüchsen P, Clausen L, Janniche GAS, Bjerg PL. Predicting the impact and duration of persistent and mobile organic compounds in groundwater systems using a contaminant mass discharge approach. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 348:119199. [PMID: 37844396 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated methods for predicting the duration and impact on groundwater quality from persistent and mobile organic compounds (PMOCs) at a drinking water well field affected by multiple contaminant sources. The fungicide metabolite N,N-dimethylsulfamide (DMS), which frequently occurs above the Danish groundwater quality criterion (0.1 μg/L), was used as an example. By combining contaminant mass discharge (CMD) estimations, modeling, and groundwater dating, a number of important discoveries were made. The current center of contaminant mass was located near the source area. The CMD at the well field was predicted to peak in 2040, and an effect from the investigated sources on groundwater quality could be expected until the end of the 21st century. A discrepancy in the current CMD at the well field and the estimated arrival time from the studied source area suggested an additional pesticide source, which has not yet been thoroughly investigated. The presence of the unknown source was supported by model simulations, producing an improved mass balance after inclusion of a contaminant source closer to the well field. The approach applied here was capable of predicting the duration and impact of DMS contamination at a well field at catchment scale. It furthermore shows potential for identification and quantification of the contribution from individual sources, and is also applicable for other PMOCs. Predicting the duration of the release and impact of contaminant sources on abstraction wells is highly valuable for water resources management and authorities responsible for contaminant risk assessment, remediation, and long-term planning at water utilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Frederiksen
- Ramboll, Englandsgade 25, 5000, Odense C, Denmark; Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Bygningstorvet, Building 115, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - K Mosthaf
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Bygningstorvet, Building 115, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - A B Bøllingtoft
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Bygningstorvet, Building 115, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - C N Albers
- Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, København K, Denmark
| | | | | | - N Tuxen
- Capital Region of Denmark, Kongens Vænge 2, 3400, Hillerød, Denmark
| | - P Tüchsen
- Novafos, Blokken 9, 3460, Birkerød, Denmark
| | - L Clausen
- HOFOR, Ørestads Boulevard 35, 2300, København S, Denmark
| | | | - P L Bjerg
- Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Bygningstorvet, Building 115, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Prieto-Espinoza M, Di Chiara Roupert R, Belfort B, Weill S, Imfeld G. Reactive transport of micropollutants in laboratory aquifers undergoing transient exposure periods. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:159170. [PMID: 36198349 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater quality is of increasing concern due to the ubiquitous occurrence of micropollutant mixtures. Stream-groundwater interactions near agricultural and urban areas represent an important entry pathway of micropollutants into shallow aquifers. Here, we evaluated the biotransformation of a micropollutant mixture (i.e., caffeine, metformin, atrazine, terbutryn, S-metolachlor and metalaxyl) during lateral stream water flow to adjacent groundwater. We used an integrative approach combining concentrations and transformation products (TPs) of the micropollutants, compound-specific isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N), sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and reactive transport modeling. Duplicate laboratory aquifers (160 cm × 80 cm × 7 cm) were fed with stream water and subjected over 140 d to three successive periods of micropollutant exposures as pulse-like (6000 μg L-1) and constant (600 μg L-1) injections under steady-state conditions. Atrazine, terbutryn, S-metolachlor and metalaxyl persisted in both aquifers during all periods (<10 % attenuation). Metformin attenuation (up to 14 %) was only observed from 90 d onwards, suggesting enhanced degradation over time. In contrast, caffeine dissipated during all injection periods (>90 %), agreeing with fast degradation rates (t1/2 < 3 d) in parallel microcosm experiments and detection of TPs (theobromine and xanthine). Significant stable carbon isotope fractionation (Δδ13C ≥ 6.6 ‰) was observed for caffeine in both aquifers, whereas no enrichment in 15N occurred. A concentration dependence of caffeine biotransformation in the aquifers was further suggested by model simulations following Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Changes in bacterial community composition reflected long-term bacterial adaptation to micropollutant exposures. Altogether, the use of an integrative approach can help to understand the interplay of subsurface hydrochemistry, bacterial adaptations and micropollutants biotransformation during stream-groundwater interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Prieto-Espinoza
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS/EOST, ITES UMR 7063, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Raphaël Di Chiara Roupert
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS/EOST, ITES UMR 7063, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Benjamin Belfort
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS/EOST, ITES UMR 7063, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sylvain Weill
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS/EOST, ITES UMR 7063, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Gwenaël Imfeld
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS/EOST, ITES UMR 7063, Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
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Kim H, Voutchkova DD, Johnsen AR, Albers CN, Thorling L, Hansen B. National Assessment of Long-Term Groundwater Response to Pesticide Regulation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:14387-14396. [PMID: 36162811 PMCID: PMC9583610 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Quantitative assessments of long-term, national-scale responses of groundwater quality to pesticide applications are essential to evaluate the effectiveness of pesticide regulations. Retardation time in the unsaturated zone (Ru) was estimated for selected herbicides (atrazine, simazine, and bentazon) and degradation products (desethylatrazine (DEA), desisopropylatrazine (DIA), desethyldesisopropylatrazine (DEIA), and BAM) using a multidecadal time series of groundwater solute chemistry (∼30 years) and herbicide sales (∼60 years). The sampling year was converted to recharge year using groundwater age. Then, Ru was estimated using a cross-correlation analysis of the sales and the frequencies of detection and exceedance of the drinking water standard (0.1 μg/L) of each selected compound. The results showed no retardation of the highly polar, thus mobile, parent compounds (i.e., bentazon), while Ru of the moderately polar compounds (i.e., simazine) was about a decade, and their degradation products showed even longer Ru. The temporal trends of the degradation products did not mirror those of the sale data, which were attributed to the various sale periods of the parent compounds, sorption of the parent compounds, and complex degradation pathways. The longer Ru in clayey/organic sediments than in sandy sediments further confirmed the role of soil-specific retardation as an important factor to consider in groundwater protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyojin Kim
- Department
of Quaternary and Groundwater Mapping, Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Universitetsbyen 81, Building 1782, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Denitza D. Voutchkova
- Department
of Quaternary and Groundwater Mapping, Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Universitetsbyen 81, Building 1782, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Anders Risbjerg Johnsen
- Department
of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark
and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Nyrop Albers
- Department
of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark
and Greenland (GEUS), Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lærke Thorling
- Department
of Quaternary and Groundwater Mapping, Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Universitetsbyen 81, Building 1782, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Hansen
- Department
of Quaternary and Groundwater Mapping, Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Universitetsbyen 81, Building 1782, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
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Yang Y, Li Y, Dai Y, Wang M, Chen W, Wang T. Historical and future trends of cadmium in rice soils deduced from long-term regional investigation and probabilistic modeling. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 415:125746. [PMID: 34088203 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
When rice soils are contaminated by cadmium (Cd), the sources and timing of such contaminations need to be identified. In this study, we aimed to quantify the sources, history, and fate of Cd in the rice soils of southern China, by combining a near 10-year regional investigation, by developing a normalized positive matrix factorization algorithm, a Cd mass balance model, and probabilistic simulation. We simulated the historical contamination process of Cd in rice soils from 1991 to 2019 and the future changes from 2019 to 2069 under varying input parameters, as affected by different environmental management measures. Over the period of 1991-2019, the input flux of Cd through atmospheric deposition was estimated at 421 g ha-1, which contributed 52.1% of the total increments in soil Cd concentration. Over the next decade, a 25.6% probability is predicted that the Cd concentration of local rice soils would increase from the baseline to the upper level of soil threshold, despite the efforts of environmental regulators. Removing the rice straw from production fields, cleaning up the irrigation channels, and strengthening environmental regulations would take approximately 50 years (2019-2069) to ensure that 90% of soils were safe for rice cultivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Yanling Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Yating Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Meie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Weiping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
| | - Tianqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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Roadmap for Determining Natural Background Levels of Trace Metals in Groundwater. WATER 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/w13091267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Determining natural background levels (NBLs) is a fundamental step in assessing the chemical status of groundwater bodies in the EU, as stipulated by the Water Framework and Groundwater Directives. The major challenges in deriving NBLs for trace metals are understanding the interaction of natural and anthropogenic processes and identifying the boundary between pristine and polluted groundwater. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a roadmap guiding the process of method selection for setting meaningful NBLs of trace metals in groundwater. To develop the roadmap, we compared and critically assessed how three methods for excluding polluted sampling points affect the NBLs for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in Danish aquifers. These methods exclude sampling points based on (1) the primary use of the well (or sampling purpose), (2) the dominating anthropogenic pressure in the vicinity of the well, or (3) a combination of pollution indicators (NO3, pesticides, organic micropollutants). Except for Ni, the NBLs derived from the three methods did not differ significantly, indicating that the data pre-selection based on the primary use of the wells is an important step in assuring the removal of anthropogenically influenced points. However, this pre-selection could limit the data representativity with respect to the different groundwater types. The roadmap (a step-by-step guideline) can be used at the national scale in countries with varying data availability.
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Lag Time as an Indicator of the Link between Agricultural Pressure and Drinking Water Quality State. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12092385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Diffuse nitrogen (N) pollution from agriculture in groundwater and surface water is a major challenge in terms of meeting drinking water targets in many parts of Europe. A bottom-up approach involving local stakeholders may be more effective than national- or European-level approaches for addressing local drinking water issues. Common understanding of the causal relationship between agricultural pressure and water quality state, e.g., nitrate pollution among the stakeholders, is necessary to define realistic goals of drinking water protection plans and to motivate the stakeholders; however, it is often challenging to obtain. Therefore, to link agricultural pressure and water quality state, we analyzed lag times between soil surface N surplus and groundwater chemistry using a cross correlation analysis method of three case study sites with groundwater-based drinking water abstraction: Tunø and Aalborg-Drastrup in Denmark and La Voulzie in France. At these sites, various mitigation measures have been implemented since the 1980s at local to national scales, resulting in a decrease of soil surface N surplus, with long-term monitoring data also being available to reveal the water quality responses. The lag times continuously increased with an increasing distance from the N source in Tunø (from 0 to 20 years between 1.2 and 24 m below the land surface; mbls) and La Voulzie (from 8 to 24 years along downstream), while in Aalborg-Drastrup, the lag times showed a greater variability with depth—for instance, 23-year lag time at 9–17 mbls and 4-year lag time at 21–23 mbls. These spatial patterns were interpreted, finding that in Tunø and La Voulzie, matrix flow is the dominant pathway of nitrate, whereas in Aalborg-Drastrup, both matrix and fracture flows are important pathways. The lag times estimated in this study were comparable to groundwater ages measured by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); however, they may provide different information to the stakeholders. The lag time may indicate a wait time for detecting the effects of an implemented protection plan while groundwater age, which is the mean residence time of a water body that is a mixture of significantly different ages, may be useful for planning the time scale of water protection programs. We conclude that the lag time may be a useful indicator to reveal the hydrogeological links between the agricultural pressure and water quality state, which is fundamental for a successful implementation of drinking water protection plans.
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