title: Selection of organic process and source indicator substances for the anthropogenically influenced water cycle.
abstract: An increasing number of organic micropollutants (OMP) is detected in anthropogenically influenced water cycles. Source control and effective natural and technical barriers are essential to maintain a high quality of drinking water resources under these circumstances. Based on the literature and our own research this study proposes a limited number of OMP that can serve as indicator substances for the major sources of OMP, such as wastewater treatment plants, agriculture and surface runoff. Furthermore functional indicators are proposed that allow assessment of the proper function of natural and technical barriers in the aquatic environment, namely conventional municipal wastewater treatment, advanced treatment (ozonation, activated carbon), bank filtration and soil aquifer treatment as well as self-purification in surface water. These indicator substances include the artificial sweetener acesulfame, the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, the anticonvulsant carbamazepine, the corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole and the herbicide mecoprop among others. The chemical indicator substances are intended to support comparisons between watersheds and technical and natural processes independent of specific water cycles and to reduce efforts and costs of chemical analyses without losing essential information.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water in Urban Areas, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF4, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jekel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dott
authors.affiliation: IWW Water Centre, Water Resources Management, 45476 Mühlheim/Ruhr, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.affiliation: Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Neue Jüdenstraße 1, 10179 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dünnbier
authors.affiliation: Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Neue Jüdenstraße 1, 10179 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gnirß
authors.affiliation: DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW), Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haist-Gulde
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Chemistry and Food Biotechnology, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hamscher
authors.affiliation: Bavarian Environmental Agency, Demollstraße 31, 82407 Wielenbach, Germany.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Letzel
authors.affiliation: Geoscience Centre, Department of Applied Geology, University Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Licha
authors.affiliation: Emschergenossenschaft, Kronprinzenstraße 24, 45128 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lyko
authors.affiliation: Berlin Centre of Competence for Water, Cicerostraße 24, 10709 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Miehe
authors.affiliation: DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW), Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sacher
authors.affiliation: DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW), Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheurer
authors.affiliation: RheinEnergie AG, Parkgürtel 24, 50823 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Carsten K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reemtsma
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water in Urban Areas, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF4, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: aki.s.ruhl@tu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Aki Sebastian
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ruhl
mesh_terms: D008456:2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000737:chemistry; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry; D005374:Filtration; D007202:Indicators and Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D013843:Thiazines / Q000737:chemistry; D014230:Triazoles / Q000737:chemistry; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D058438:Water Cycle; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D008456:2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid; D002220:Carbamazepine; D002606:Charcoal; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D013843:Thiazines; D014230:Triazoles; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C008340:mecoprop; C012771:benzotriazole; C006362:acetosulfame
keywords: Aquatic environment; Diclofenac; Pharmaceuticals; Sulfamethoxazole; Trace pollutants; Urban water cycle