We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to What Determines the Future Ecological Risks of Wastewater Discharges in River Networks: Load, Location or Climate Change?
ClearAn Analytical Framework for Determining the Ecological Risks of Wastewater Discharges in River Networks Under Climate Change
Researchers developed an analytical framework to assess ecological risks from wastewater treatment plant discharges into river networks under climate change scenarios, finding that reduced river flows from climate change will amplify ecological risks from effluent contaminants including microplastics.
Microplastic particle emission from wastewater treatment plant effluents into river networks in Germany: Loads, spatial patterns of concentrations and potential toxicity
Researchers estimated annual microplastic particle emissions from wastewater treatment plants into Germany's ten major river basins and analyzed spatial concentration patterns across stream orders. The study found that while treatment plants are point sources of microplastic pollution, the spatial organization of facilities along river networks creates predictable downstream concentration patterns with potential ecological implications.
Risk Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Urban Discharge Fraction and Eutrophication in Large European River Networks
Researchers assessed how climate change could worsen water quality in European rivers by increasing nutrient pollution from urban areas. While not focused on microplastics, this study highlights the broader environmental pressures on freshwater systems that also carry microplastic contamination.
Microplastic transport in European river networks
Researchers estimated the average annual load of microplastics transported to seas and oceans from 125 European catchments by coupling a mass balance model with a graph-theory river network model incorporating wastewater treatment plant effluents, surface runoff, and combined sewer overflows.
Green infrastructure and climate change impacts on the flows and water quality of urban catchments: Salmons Brook and Pymmes Brook in north-east London
Researchers modeled the impacts of green infrastructure and climate change on water flows and quality in two urban north London catchments, evaluating how misconnected sewers, urban runoff, and atmospheric deposition contribute to river pollution and how nature-based solutions could help.
Global distribution of wastewater treatment plants and their released effluents into rivers and streams
This paper maps the global distribution of wastewater treatment plants and quantifies the pollutants—including microplastics—they release into rivers. Despite removing much of the contamination, these facilities remain significant sources of microplastic discharge into waterways worldwide.
Hydrological modelling: Insights into hydrological signals and contaminant transport
Researchers modeled how future climate-driven changes in hydrological extremes — including floods and droughts — affect contaminant transport in a heavily polluted Scottish catchment, finding that traditional models calibrated on historical data perform poorly when projecting under novel climatic conditions.
Urbanization: an increasing source of multiple pollutants to rivers in the 21st century
Researchers modeled the combined impact of urbanization on river pollution from nutrients, microplastics, triclosan, and pathogens across over 10,000 rivers globally. They project that by the end of the century, around 80% of the world's population could live near rivers with multi-pollutant problems under high urbanization scenarios. The study suggests that advanced wastewater treatment could technically prevent future pollution in many regions, though Africa faces particularly severe challenges.
Combined Effects of Treatment and Sewer Connections to Reduce Future Microplastic Emissions in Rivers
Researchers applied the global water quality model MARINA-Plastics across 10,226 sub-basins worldwide to assess how different microplastic emission reduction scenarios would affect river inputs over the period 2010-2100. They found that combining improved wastewater treatment with expanded sewer connections produced the greatest reductions, highlighting the need for integrated infrastructure and treatment strategies.
Ecological impacts of combined sewer overflows on receiving waters
This review examines how combined sewer overflows — when heavy rain causes sewers to release untreated waste directly into rivers — deliver microplastics, micropollutants, and pathogens into waterways, and evaluates management strategies for protecting water quality as climate change makes intense storms more frequent.
From headwaters to receiving waters: river dynamics in an increasingly urban world
This paper is not about microplastics; it synthesizes research on river dynamics from headwaters to receiving waters in urban environments, covering hydrological, ecological, and restoration topics.
Interconnected impacts of water resource management and climate change on microplastic pollution and riverine biocoenosis: A review by freshwater ecologists
Researchers reviewed how river hydrology, water resource management, and climate change interact to influence microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems. They found that floods can flush microplastics from catchments, while reservoirs act as both sinks and sources, and extreme weather events driven by climate change tend to concentrate microplastics and threaten aquatic organisms. The study highlights a critical gap in research that jointly addresses these interconnected factors and calls for integrated policy approaches.
Predicted aquatic exposure effects from a national urban stormwater study
Researchers estimated cumulative acute risks to aquatic ecosystems from contaminant mixtures in episodic stormwater discharges across the US, revealing significant potential exposure effects on multiple trophic levels.
Wastewater treatment plants elevating microplastic abundances, ecological risks, and loads in Japanese rivers: a source-to-sink perspective
A study of five rivers in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan found that wastewater treatment plant effluents significantly increased microplastic concentrations, types, and ecological risk scores in receiving rivers compared to upstream and rural waterways. The results confirm a source-to-sink pathway from treatment plants into rivers and ultimately coastal marine environments, highlighting that current treatment infrastructure is insufficient to prevent microplastic pollution.
Refining the Aquatic Microplastic Risk Assessment Framework through Dynamic Flux Simulation and Ecological Thresholds
Researchers developed a coupled hydrological-transport model and species-sensitivity-based risk framework for riverine microplastics, applying it to the Jinsha River on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and finding that spatially adjusting ecological risk thresholds based on local species richness places 13–43% of the watershed at medium-to-high microplastic risk.
High Spatiotemporal Model-Based Tracking and Environmental Risk-Exposure of Wastewater-Derived Pharmaceuticals across River Networks in Saxony, Germany
This is an environmental engineering study modeling how pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plants travel through river networks in Saxony, Germany; it is not a microplastics research paper.
The distribution and risk of microplastics discharged from sewage treatment plants in terrestrial and aquatic compartment
Researchers found that sewage treatment plants reduced microplastic concentrations by roughly 80-90% between influent and effluent, but remaining particles discharged via treated water and sludge still posed measurable ecological risks to surrounding terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Wastewater Discharge Transports Riverine Microplastics over Long Distances
This study demonstrated that wastewater discharge transports riverine microplastics over long distances downstream, with treatment plant effluent contributing significantly to the total microplastic load in receiving rivers.
Future Scenarios for River Exports of Multiple Pollutants by Sources and Sub‐Basins Worldwide: Rising Pollution for the Indian Ocean
Global modeling projected that under an economy-driven scenario, river exports of nutrients and microplastics would double by 2100, with the Indian Ocean facing the largest increases, while a sustainability-driven scenario could achieve up to 83% reductions.
River ecosystem processes: A synthesis of approaches, criteria of use and sensitivity to environmental stressors
This synthesis reviewed approaches to studying river ecosystem processes, evaluating criteria for selecting sensitive indicators and methods for detecting ecological change driven by pollution and land-use pressures.