Treated wastewater effluent increases pharmaceutical concentrations and alters benthic microbial communities in streams.

ABSTRACT: Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent can be a point source of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to surface waters, and these biologically active compounds have the potential to select for resistant traits and taxa within aquatic microbial communities. The goals of this study were to determine if WWTP effluent is a point source of PPCPs to urban streams; to determine if effluent inputs affect benthic microbial community composition; and to determine if effluent inputs increase the abundance of antibiotic resistance determinants within benthic microbial communities. We collected water and sediment from three streams in the Chicago metro area: two urban streams that receive WWTP effluent and one rural stream that does not receive effluent. We quantified concentrations o

SUBMITTER: Lorentz B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12417413 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature