Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) from discharge to drinking water: a modelling and monitoring integrated framework

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) presence in drinking water is gaining growing concern for potential negative effects on human health. This study combined modelling of river transport with monitoring campaigns performed over one year at a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) located at the closure section of Po river basin, to evaluate the types of released PPCPs, their concentrations and fate in both the river and the DWTP. Over the 114 monitored PPCPs, maximum 23 compounds have been detected at the DWTP inlet with concentrations from 10 to 1800 ng/L, varying among PPCPs and in time. The transport in Po river of iopamidol, with the highest concentration at the DWTP inlet, was simulated combining hydrological and quality data and models. Finally, DWTP monitoring showed that ozonation and adsorption onto activated carbon have the main impact in reducing a wide variety of PPCPs, with performances influenced by their characteristics.