Abstract

Rivers act as essential sinks for anthropogenic pollutants, receiving treated and untreated wastewater and urban runoff, while supplying drinking water to billions worldwide. They also host ecosystems vital for water purification, ensuring its quality.
As urban water cycles become increasingly closed, the degradation of pollutants in the aquatic environment gains significance in water management. However, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of the fate of polar organic pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, within river ecosystems. These substances, often resistant to conventional water treatment methods, pose a challenge to maintaining water quality and ecosystem health.
This seminar offers an overview of this issue, and highlights key discoveries and challenges in studying the fate of these substances in rivers.

Presenter:

Malte Posselt, Department of Environmental Science

Host:

Matthew MacLeod, Department of Environmental Science