HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.03.18 WRC EC in Cayuga LakeAssessment of Emerging Contaminants
in the Ithaca NY Area, 2014-2015
Jose Lozano and Susan Allen-Gil*
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
* Ithaca College
A look into the pharmaceuticals, consumer products and
microplastics in the southern Cayuga Lake watershed
2
IAWWTF
One of the most
comprehensive assessments
in US
•9 sampling events
•7 sites
•~ 200 compounds
•24-hour composite samples
•Raw water at 2 intake locations
•time proportional
•Influent, Effluent
•flow proportional
•Grab samples
•Biosolids
•Cayuga Lake
•Analysis
•USGS –CO
•4 different methods
Antibiotic
Anticonvulsant
Antidepressant
Antifungal
Antihistamine
Antiviral
Benzodiazepine
Diabetics (Metformin)
Hypertensives
Mescle Relaxants
Opiates/Opiods
Other (Non Pharmaceutical)
Other Pharmaceuticals
Stimulant
THE STARTING POINT:
DRINKING WATER INTAKE
June 2014 July 2014September 2014 December 2014May 2015 ng/L0
10
20
30
40
50
Atrazine
Nicotine
Metformin
June 2014 July 2014September 2014 December 2014May 2015 July 2015ng/L 0
50
100
150
200
250
•Six Mile Creek water is cleaner than Fall Creek Water (note scales differ)
•Metformin, atrazine, nicotine, and acetaminophen found most often and at highest concentrations
•Detectable, reportable, but less than 1 pinch of salt on 10 tons of potato chips
•Doesn’t mean that is what comes out of your sink! (just atrazine! 35 nanograms/L)
Six Mile Creek Fall Creek
3
Raw vs Treated Drinking Water
Compound 7/15/2015 9/15/2015 12/15/2015
Atrazine -56.0 na na
Benzophenone na na na
Bromoform na na Only in treated water
Camphor -3.3 na -4.2
Carbamazepine na -17.7 Only in treated water
Chloroxylenol na na Only in raw water
Isophorone -13.8 na na
Metolachlor -56.7 na na
methyl-1H-benzotriazole na na na
Metformin Only in raw water na Only in treated water
Tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP)Only in treated water Only in raw water na
Venlafaxine na Only in treated water na
56% decrease from raw to treated
Median 17% decrease in conc. from raw to treated water, but limited data.
•CARU= 10
•CDWS = 18
•CDTW = 8
•IRWS=7
Specific Compounds by Site
Total concentrations by major compound group
Hormones: two orders of magnitude higher in WI than in WE samples
PCDU compounds and pharmaceuticals were an order of magnitude higher in INF than EFF samples
Pesticides were only compound group found in higher concentrations in SW/DW than INF or EFF
Influent (WW-INF), effluent (WW-EFF), surface water and drinking water sites (SW/DW).
Note: log scale and difference scales per compound group
Surface Water Samples
CARU: Cayuga Lake
CDWS: Cornell DW Untreated
COWT: Cornell DW Treated
IRWS: Ithaca DW Untreated
24 compounds were detected in one or
more of the samples
Seven compounds were commonly
detected in more than 25% of these
samples
2 pesticides (atrazine and
metolachlor)
2 pharmaceuticals (metformin and
carbamazepine)
1 PCDU compound (camphor)
2 other compounds (isophorone
and methyl-1H-benzotriazole)
100%!
Comparison to
NY Streams
Cayuga Lake: atrazine and
metformin in 90th
percentile
SW/DW samples are
similar to (and in many
cases, less than) those
found in New York State
streams (45 sites).
IAWWTF performance at removing ECs
Homer NY 2014
11
INF Loading [Lb/day]Hormones Pharma P/A Biochems PC/DU Plasticizers Other PAH
Overall mean 109.9 2,889.1 7,945.4 1,706.1 1,472.4 1,449.5 5.8
% Removal Efficiency 97.3 79.0 98.0 66.1 44.6 48.9 90.9
Expected load to biosolids 107.0 2,281.3 7,784.1 1,128.6 656.4 709.2 5.3
INF Loading [Lb/day]Metformin Caffeine
Overall mean 1,145.3 3,728.8
% Removal Efficiency 15.3 95.6
Expected load to biosolids 175.2 3,563.9
Fate of ECs
12
Compound Amount
Removed [Lb/day]
Biosolids
Content [Lb/day]Difference [Lb/day]
Hormones 107.0 1.77E-06 107.0
PC/DU 1,128.0 2.43 1,125.6
P/A Biochem 7,748.1 0.68 7,747.4
Plasticizers 656.4 0.03 656.4
PAH 5.3 0.04 5.3
Other 709.2 0.04 709.2
Selected compounds mass balance between amounts removed from the effluent
and present in biosolids. The difference between these is the amount destroyed,
lost, or chemically modified.
Fate of ECs Poof!
Where did
they go?
Current Microplastics Research
•Process:
–Sampling 4 lake sites for last 2 years plus effluent
–50 um net
–Density separation, hydrogen peroxide digestion,
staining
–Grid counting, epifluorscence microscopy
–Raman spectroscopy
•Discover Cayuga Informational Boat Tour!
–June 19 (rain date of June 26, ~6-8 pm)
–By Invitation only, targeted audience
Link to CCE Video:
http://ccetompkins.org/environment/water-conservation-
quality/microplastics
Intrinsic fluorescence
Acetate (F1 Canadian Celanese)Acrylic (F5 Asahi Chem. Co.)
Cotton (cheese cloth)
Merino wool
IAWWTF Effluent MicroPlastics, MP, and MicroFibers, MF.
Average flow during sampling period was 7.608 MGD
24hr Flow-proportional composite samples
Emerging water quality concerns:
pharmaceuticals & microplastics
Please join us for a
friendly and informative
boat tour on the Cayuga
lake floating Classroom
June 19 to 7:00 to 9:00 PM
(rain date: June 26)
Snacks and beverages included
Leaving from Treman Marina.
Limited space, please RSVP at your earliest
convenience: floatingclassroom@gmail.com
A multi-year collaborative project between
IAWWTF, Ithaca College, Cornell
University, USGS, and Cornell Cooperative
Extension
THANK YOU!