Improved drinking water quality after adding advanced oxidation for organic micropollutant removal to pretreatment of river water undergoing dune infiltration near The Hague, Netherlands

“The presence and concentration of organic micropollutants (OMP) in surface water sources for drinking water production form a potential threat for water quality today and in future. OMP, such as pesticides, pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupting compounds, X-ray contrast media and personal care products, have been found at ng/L to low µg/L concentrations in surface waters throughout the world (Kolpin et al., 2002, Jürgens et al., 2002, Stolker et al., 2004, Kasprzyk-Hordern et al., 2008, Gros et al., 2009, Houtman, 2010). PhACs and pesticides are among OMP of concern for drinking water utilities (Ray et al., 2002) because of their biological activity with possible long term effects, and sensitivity in the public media. The effect on human health is considered negligible for some OMP at low concentrations (Schriks et al., 2010), but OMP should be avoided in drinking water since the toxicity of other OMP and a mixture of them is unknown. In the Netherlands, legal standards for OMP in pre-treated river water for managed aquifer recharge and recovery (MARR) for drinking water production are set by the twelve provincial governments (IB 1993). These standards are, for most compounds, similar to national limits set for drinking water, with a maximum allowed concentration for individual pesticides of 0.1 µg/L, and a total concentration of 0.5 µg/L. This could mean that when OMP concentrations increase in surface waters in the future, extensive pre-treatment of surface water prior to MARR needs to be implemented.”

(Citation: Timmers, P.H.A., Slootweg, T., et.al. – Improved drinking water quality after adding advanced oxidation for organic micropollutant removal to pretreatment of river water undergoing dune infiltration near The Hague, Netherlands – Journal of Hazardous Materials 429(2022)art.no.128346 – DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128346 – (Open Access))

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