Organisationseinheit: Deutschland. Umweltbundesamt. Fachgebiet II.3.1 - Nationale und internationale Fortentwicklung der Trinkwasserhygiene; Trinkwasserressourcen
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Bad Elster
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Modeling the fate of organic micropollutants in agricultural soils: laboratory parameterization and field-scale implications
(2026) Thalmann, Mogens; Klitzke, Sondra; Lange, Andrea; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian; Peters, Andre
Organic micropollutants (OMP) increasingly enter agricultural soils through irrigation with reclaimed water, raising concerns about their mobility and persistence in soils and their potential to contaminate groundwater. This study investigates the fate of ten OMP in an arable loamy-sand topsoil using a combined experimental and modeling approach. Abiotic/biotic kinetic and isotherm batch experiments were performed to derive process-relevant parameters for sorption and biodegradation. An inverse modeling approach was employed to simultaneously fit the parameters for the different processes to all three data types (i.e., abiotic kinetic, biotic kinetic data, equilibrium data), allowing robust parameter estimation across varying levels of model complexity. The model incorporated equilibrium and kinetic sorption (linear and Freundlich isotherms; one- and two-site kinetic models), first-order biodegradation, and explicitly accounted for vaporization losses due to aerated vessels, extending traditional batch modeling frameworks.
Four OMP (adamantan-1-amine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, and sulfamethoxazole) exhibited biphasic sorption behavior, which was best described by a two-site kinetic model. Three OMP (acesulfame, saccharin, and valsartanate) showed negligible sorption but, following lag phases between 4 and 9 days, indicated microbial adaptation. After adaption, rapid biodegradation with half-lives of 0.4, 0.9, and 3.3 days, occurred. The remaining compounds (diatrizoate, trifluoromethanesulfonate, primidone) showed neither sorption nor degradation.
The necessity of applying the relatively complex modeling approaches — required to describe the lab experiments — to field conditions was investigated using Hydrus-1D simulations under realistic soil and climate scenarios. The simulations revealed that sorption kinetics and microbial adaptation phases had minimal impacts on OMP transport simulations at field-scale under matrix-dominated flow, despite their importance for laboratory-scale interpretation. The results suggest that simplified equilibrium and immediate-degradation assumptions may be sufficient for risk assessment regarding to OMP in homogeneous soils with predominantly uniform flow conditions.
Overall, this study presents a comprehensive framework for bridging laboratory observations with field-scale modeling, offering new insights into OMP fate and guiding efficient parameterization strategies for environmental risk assessment for the management of reclaimed water.
Point-of-Use Re-Use: Dezentrale landwirtschaftliche Wiederverwendung von häuslichem Abwasser zur Verringerung von Nutzungskonkurrenzen
(Umweltbundesamt, 2026) Dittmann, Daniel; Görnt, Annika; Bauer, Aaron M.; Seelig, Alina; Thalmann, Mogens; Hasselder, Pascal; Wilkes, Theresa; Thor, Jan; Förster, Christina; Helmecke, Manuela; Klitzke, Sondra; Pfeifer, Sven; Reynaert, Eva; Fidan, Gökce; Fischer, Andreas; Matthies, Lisa; Werner, Maximilian; Harnisch, Silvio; Johne, Steffen; Meyer, Andreas; Junghans, Veikko; Borsdorff, Dirk; Borsdorff, Erik; Zahn, Daniel; Peters, Andre; Engels, Christof; Reemtsma, Thorsten; Haberkamp, Jens; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian; Umweltbundesamt, FH Münster; Irriproject; Irriproject; Umweltbundesamt; HU Berlin; Mann+Hummel; Mann+Hummel; Umweltbundesamt; Umweltbundesamt; FH Münster; UV-EL GmbH & Co. KG; Umweltbundesamt; Umweltbundesamt; UV-EL GmbH & Co. KG; HU Berlin; Umweltbundesamt; Mann+Hummel; UV-EL GmbH & Co. KG; TU Braunschweig; Umweltbundesamt; UFZ; Umweltbundesamt; Umweltbundesamt; UFZ; TU Braunschweig; TU Berlin; Mann+Hummel; FH Münster; UFZ; Deutschland. Umweltbundesamt
Klimatische Veränderungen führen regional vermehrt zu akuter Wasserknappheit, wodurch Nutzungskonkurrenzen, beispielsweise zwischen Trinkwasserversorgung und landwirtschaftlicher Bewässerung, entstehen können. Mit der dezentralen Aufbereitung von häuslichem Abwasser und dessen Verwendung für die landwirtschaftliche Bewässerung können natürliche Wasserressourcen entlastet und Abwässer als wertvolle Ressource direkt vor Ort genutzt werden.Die Ergebnisse des PU2R-Projekts wurden bei zahlreichen Veranstaltungen Interessent*innen vorgestellt und demonstriert. Außerdem wurden Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse bei der Entwicklung nationaler Regelungen zur Umsetzung der EU-Verordnung (REG (EU) 2020/741) berücksichtigt.
Impacts of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water on Soil and Groundwater: Vegetation- and Season-Dependent Patterns from a Lysimeter Study
(2026) Görnt, Annika; Klitzke, Sondra; Bauer, Aaron; Dittmann, Daniel; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian
The use of reclaimed water in agriculture is a potential solution to regional water shortages. A controlled lysimeter study investigated the impact of irrigation with reclaimed water on the soil's water and nutrient balance, and the potential impact on drainage water quality for groundwater recharge. Planted and unplanted lysimeters with defined soil profiles were irrigated with reclaimed or tap water for 12 months (August 2024 to August 2025). The reclaimed water was obtained from a membrane bioreactor. Water balance (precipitation, irrigation and potential evapotranspiration) and drainage water formation were recorded and sampled weekly. The analyses included physico-chemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, total bound nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium nitrogen), anions (chloride, fluoride, sulfate), and 21 organic micropollutants. In the planted lysimeters, electrical conductivity increased notably, especially during dry summer periods, suggesting evapotranspiration effects and altered flow paths within the root zone. Conversely, nitrogen concentrations in the drainage water from the planted lysimeters were substantially lower than in the unplanted lysimeters, which is consistent with plant uptake and potentially enhanced microbial conversion in the rhizosphere. In summary, both vegetation and water type markedly affected drainage water quality, with clear differences between reclaimed and tap water as well as strong seasonal effects. The results suggest that when assessing irrigation with reclaimed water, site- and management-specific conditions and vegetation-related differences in drainage water quality and groundwater recharge rates must be considered. © The Author(s) 2026
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