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Contaminants of Emerging Concern for the Urban Water Industry
Water and sewerage services in Queensland are provided by a diverse group of businesses, ranging in scale from tiny remote councils servicing just 100 sewer connections to very large, distributed retailers with up to 60,000 sewer connections. For at least half of Queensland’s Water Service Providers, meeting a level of service that meets health and environmental regulatory requirements is particularly challenging due to the combined factors of a small rates base, a dispersed population, and remote locations. However, these WSPs all work within the same regulatory framework and must manage challenges common to all modern utilities.
The Sewerage and Water Environmental Advisory Panel (SWEAP) is an expert group comprised of representatives from water service providers across Queensland. The panel was originally convened in 2012 to provide a forum for discussion and consultation on environmental matters relating to sewage treatment, arising from legislative changes which concerned multiple service providers. Since then, the group has been meeting regularly to provide advice on environmental management and regulation of treatment plants, sewers, and sewage pump stations, and to foster collaboration on joint submissions to the Queensland Government on policy issues.
One of the issues that has arisen in recent years, partly due to community concerns that have been exacerbated by media attention is that of contaminants of emerging concern (COEC). Water and sewerage service providers are an important gateway between the community and the environment. Wastewater treatment plants accept, manage, and treat water from domestic, industrial, trade waste and landfill sources on its journey to the broader environment. Many contaminants enter our sewers as the result of normal human activities: preparation and cooking of food; bathing; laundry; managing our health with medications and supplements; exercise and leisure activities… the list goes on. Concern about contamination from legacy and emerging contaminants is high and likely to grow as community and regulator expectations continue to increase in parallel with the ability to detect these trace contaminants.
At the behest of the SWEAP, expressions of interest were sought from members for developing a Consortium of water utilities to participate in national industry research and innovation on COEC. Individually, most councils do not have the resources to maintain membership in national research organisations or to influence the direction of research. It was felt that a cooperative consortium coordinated through qldwater could provide opportunities to direct research in technology and policy at state and national levels on this important topic. As a result, the qldwater Consortium for Research and Advocacy on Contaminants (qCRAC) was established with the initial aims to: • Jointly address political drivers and Regulator and public reaction to media concerns on
COEC. • Avoid duplication, information collection. • Influence research and advocacy at state, national and international scales. • Create new resources for members.
The costs to Queensland WSPs of dealing with contaminant issues will inevitably increase but can be mitigated through joint action and collaboration in national and international initiatives for research, policy and advocacy. The strategic objectives of the Consortium are outlined here, summarised using the mnemonic SAFETI for emerging contaminants.
Sis for Source Control.
Delineate source vs treatment issues in sewage Recognise need for controls on emerging contaminants from residences as well as industry National policy to reduce contaminant inputs (e.g. why remove PFAS at the STP)
WWTPs are the end of the line for a lot of contaminants that are disposed or flushed from industry, trade waste and domestic sewage. Domestic sources are the most significant input of some classes of contaminants such as the pharmaceuticals and personal care products which include medications and their metabolites, fragrances and antimicrobial agents to name a few. Domestic wastewater is also a prominent source of microfibres from clothing and PFAS from food packaging, clothing and consumer goods. None of these compounds should be discharged to the environment but are both technically difficult and expensive to remove by treatment processes. However, Australian legislation as yet does not recognise the role of manufacturers and importers of these products in contributing to pollution of our wastewater.
Ais for Assessment.
Developing methodology and limits for new contaminants (e.g. PFAS in biosolids) Tracking, surveys and online sensors Assessing contaminant levels in the environment
At the moment, there is not much information available for many emerging contaminants within the Queensland context. Using PFAS as an example, there are numerous international studies that have examined environmental PFAS contamination in the USA and Europe, but Australia is different, because PFAS has never been manufactured here. Determining the extent and level of COEC presence in the Queensland environment must be a priority to encourage appropriate regulation. The first step is to have standardised reliable and reproducible analytical methods for measurement of COEC in matrices from wastewater to fresh and marine waters, biosolids and soils. For some contaminants like microplastics analysis is a real challenge because of the diversity of materials, particle sizes and shapes which mean that no single analytical technique can provide the answer.
Fis for Fate & Risks.
Understanding fate and risks of emerging contaminants compared with other substances Better mechanisms for understanding pathways and accumulation
The risk posed by many individual COEC to ecosystems is not completely understood. Media attention (and consequently, regulation) is directed to highprofile COEC, but without consideration of the actual risk to the environment and human health. Risk is conventionally categorised using tools such as the PBT paradigm which use the Persistence, Bioaccumulation and Toxicity of a pollutant (sometimes with the addition of Mobility) in combination to determine the relative risk of a pollutant to the ecosystem. To that we would add Distribution. A pollutant that is found everywhere because it is present in many consumer products may potentially pose a greater risk than a more toxic but rarely used compound.
Eis for Education & Communications. Review, collate and circulate information on new contaminants Share consistent information across the sector Tools for communication with customers and communities
Having access to accurate information about emerging contaminants, their distribution and the level of risk that they pose to human and ecosystem health is very important for organisations such as water service providers. Shared information helps to provide a consistent message across the industry and can be used to manage the concerns of all industry stakeholders, from customers and workers to NGOs and regulators.
Tis for Treatment.
Novel mechanisms for removing contaminants Understanding efficacy of various existing treatment technologies Advancements in treatment technologies promise opportunities for improving the potential to remove contaminants from treated water before it enters the environment. However, technologies are not always able to remove all contaminants, despite being almost universally energy and resource expensive. The development of novel treatments or technologies that can augment existing treatment processes has the potential to reduce the costs and therefore accessibility of contaminant removal to WSPs leading to improved environmental outcomes.
Iis for Influence.
National and International influence on policy and decision-making Taking lead on environmental stewardship rather than a reactive approach Building networks with state and national agencies to share information/experience The water sector needs to take a strong position to influence policy at the national and state level to ensure that policy is appropriate, proportionate and practicable. We can do this by forging linkages with government and industry stakeholders and research institutions that are already influential in COEC policy. Through the work of the Consortium we hope to inspire the industry to be leaders in environmental stewardship.
For further information, contact Dr Louise Reeves, Program Research Coordinator lreeves@qldwater.com.au
