Municipal and Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent Contributions to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Potomac River: A Basin-Scale Measuring and Modeling Approach

Abstract

Managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water resources requires a basin-scale approach. Predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) and stream-vulnerability scores for PFAS were determined for the Potomac River watershed in the eastern United States. Approximately 15% of stream reaches contained municipal and/or industrial wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges that are presumptive PFAS sources, comprising from <1 to >90% of streamflow. Mean annual PEC, based on the summed concentrations of eight PFAS detected in WWTP effluents (ΣPFASₚₑ꜀), for all stream reaches in the watershed was 3.8 ng L⁻¹, and stream reaches impacted by WWTP had perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) PEC of 0.39 and 0.14 ng L⁻¹. For locations where measured-environmental concentrations (MEC) were determined, municipal and industrial WWTP contributed 7.8% (0 to 65%) of the total annual streamflow and MEC were greater than PEC in 99% of the samples, indicating additional potential PFAS sources. The mean ΣPFASₚₑ꜀ was 9.1 ng L⁻¹ compared to a mean sum of PFAS MEC of 34 ng L⁻¹. Under mean-August low-flow, 17% and 9.4% of the water-supply intakes had maximum PFOA and PFOS PEC exceeding drinking water maximum contaminant levels.