Natural attenuation of priority and emerging contaminants during river bank filtration and artificial recharge

River bank filtration and artificial recharge significantly reduce the variety of organic contaminants, including drugs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, oestrogenic hormones, and others, found in Seine river water downstream of Paris. However, while these processes decrease the presence of many pollutants, they can inadvertently increase nonylphenols due to the anaerobic degradation of their precursors. Despite treatment, traces of aspirin, nonylphenols, and stimulants were occasionally detected in finished drinking water above 0.1 μg/L. The study monitored over 80 contaminants across five sampling campaigns at various stages of water treatment, including river water, bank filtration, artificial recharge, and post-treatment mixtures.

Bruchet, A., Robert, S., Esperanza, M., Janex-Habibi, M.-L., Miège, C., Coquery, M., Budzinski, H., & Lemenach, K. (2011). Natural attenuation of priority and emerging contaminants during river bank filtration and artificial recharge. European Journal of Water Quality, 42(2), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1051/wqual/2012004