title: Correlation of trace contaminants to wastewater management practices in small watersheds.
abstract: Ten low-order streams draining headwater catchments within the East Fork Little Miami Watershed were evaluated throughout one year for the presence of six steroidal hormones, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban, and the artificial sweetener sucralose. The wastewater management practices in the catchments included septic systems, sanitary sewers, a combination of both, and a parkland with no treatment systems. The concentrations and detection frequencies of sucralose showed a significant positive correlation with the septic density in each catchment. A similar relationship was found for sulfamethoxazole. Both sucralose and sulfamethoxazole are hydrophilic and unlikely to be removed effectively by sorption during septic treatment. The concentrations and detection frequencies of the antimicrobials were also positively correlated with septic density. The presence of the antimicrobials in the streams indicates that although they are hydrophobic, removal during septic treatment was incomplete. The target analytes that correlated with septic density were also detected in stream samples collected below a wastewater treatment plant located within the same watershed. The steroidal hormone estrone was the most frequently detected analyte at all sites. However, the estrone concentrations and detection frequencies did not correlate with the septic density due to multiple non-point sources.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268, USA. schenck.kathleen@epa.gov.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schenck
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.forename: Balaji
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Macke
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nietch
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical