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Occurrence, concentration and distribution of 50 organic contaminants in water and bottom sediment from urban streams affected by stormwater discharges
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Architecture and Water.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0747-081X
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Architecture and Water.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4732-7348
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Architecture and Water.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1725-6478
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Architecture and Water.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5548-4397
2025 (English)In: Water Research, ISSN 0043-1354, E-ISSN 1879-2448, Vol. 283, article id 123847Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Stormwater runoff transports organic contaminants from urban areas to receiving water bodies, yet its contribution to these pollutants in the aquatic environment is still poorly understood. Additionally, contaminants behave differently in receiving waters, with some binding to particles and accumulating in sediments while others stay dissolved in the water. This study was carried out three Swedish urban streams receiving stormwater discharges through separate sewer systems, under dry and wet weather conditions. Stream water and bottom sediment samples were collected along an urbanization gradient, from rural upstream to urban downstream sections, and analyzed for 50 stormwater-related organic contaminants to assess the impact of stormwater on contaminant levels. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalates were more prevalent in sediment samples, with concentrations increasing along the urbanization gradient, indicating contributions from urban areas and stormwater runoff. In contrast, organotin compounds and phenols showed no clear pattern indicating transport through stormwater runoff in the water phase. Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) behaved differently from other contaminant groups by exhibiting a clear contribution from stormwater runoff in both phases. Though carried out in streams passing through relatively small urban settings, the findings clearly demonstrate that stormwater discharges can impact receiving waters. Of the 50 analyzed contaminants, three exceeded toxicity-based limits in dry weather (DW), seven in wet weather (WW), and twenty in bottom sediments. In the water phase, under DW and WW conditions, the three contaminants with the highest exceedance of toxicity-based limits were Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), Tributyltin (TBT), and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP). In the sediment phase, 4‑tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP), Tributyltin (TBT), and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were the three compounds with the highest exceedance of toxicity-based limits. Compared to relatively hydrophilic contaminants (e.g., PFAS), hydrophobic organic contaminants, particularly those accumulating in sediments (e.g. phenols, phthalates), posed a greater risk to the aquatic environment with exceedance levels reaching up to 105 times the thresholds. These findings raise concerns about the long-term impact on aquatic environments and highlight the need for mitigation strategies, including regulatory or operational restrictions on the contaminant sources and implementation of stormwater treatment facilities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2025. Vol. 283, article id 123847
Keywords [en]
Urban runoff, Micropollutants, Urban river, Wet weather, Emerging contaminants
National Category
Water Engineering Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Urban Water Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-112782DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123847ISI: 001499013500004PubMedID: 40403556Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105005513291OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-112782DiVA, id: diva2:1960899
Funder
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Grant numbers 06920-21 and 03808-23Swedish Research Council Formas, Grant number 2023-02529Vinnova, Grant number 2022-03092
Note

Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-05-26 (u2);

Full text: CC BY license;

Available from: 2025-05-26 Created: 2025-05-26 Last updated: 2025-10-21Bibliographically approved

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Kali, Suna EkinÖsterlund, HeléneViklander, MariaBlecken, Godecke-Tobias

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