Matthias Zessner

TU Wien | TU Wien · Institute for Water Quality and Resource Management

Correction for ‘Exploring the variability of PFAS in urban sewage: a comparison of emissions in commercial versus municipal urban areas’ by N. Krlovic et al. , Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts , 2024, 26 , 1868–1878, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EM00415A.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a widespread group of organic contaminants whose presence in water bodies is cause of severe concern. With few exceptions, the majority of PAHs is hydrophobic, presents a high adsorption affinity, and is thus primarily transported within river systems during high-flow events together with suspended partic...

Zusammenfassung Dieses Kapitel präsentiert und bewertet den aktuellen Stand des Wissens zum Konnex Landnutzung und Klimawandel in Österreich aus dem systemischen Blickwinkel der UN Agenda 2030 für eine Nachhaltige Entwicklung. Dabei wird dem Thema entsprechend auf die Verflechtungen zwischen den lokalen, nationalen und internationalen Ebenen eingeg...

Zusammenfassung Die Technische Zusammenfassung des APCC-Sonderberichts ″Landnutzung und Klimawandel in Österreich″ umfasst die Kernbotschaften der Kapitel 1–9. In ihr sind die Hauptaussagen zu den sozioökonomischen und klimatischen Treibern der Landnutzungsänderungen, zu den Auswirkungen von Landnutzung und -bewirtschaftung auf den Klimawandel, zu...

Background The European Water Framework Directive foresees the establishment of emission inventories for micropollutants (MP) to facilitate an evidence-based development of mitigation measures. Regionalized pathway analysis constitutes a moderately data-intensive approach to quantify the contribution of different pathways to the total pollution of...

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent chemicals, whose impact has been observed in various environmental compartments. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered a major emission pathway of PFAS, specifically in the context of the aquatic environment. The goal of this study was to develop a compartmentalized,...

PFAS in an urban environment can come from various sources. The main activity in the area, i.e. commercial versus municipal, can influence the overall loads and speciation of PFAS in the examined wastewater.

-Regional nitrogen balances of food production and consumption have been analysed. -Nitrogen emissions into soils, atmosphere and waters have been quantified. -Production systems and related natural conditions cause regional differences. -Differences are particularly visible between alpine and non-alpine regions. -The achievable nitrogen use effici...

Purpose According to standard procedure recommended by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), dissolved concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in river water are determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in filtered (0.45 µm) and acidified (pH 2) samples. Properly prepared and stored composite samples can enhanc...

Shallow lakes provide a multitude of ecosystem functions, but they are particularly vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Understanding the driving factors determining the fate and spatial distribution of nutrients and pollutants in such systems is fundamental to assess the impact of ongoing or future external pressures endangering...

Trace substances represent one of the central challenges for water management in the Danube River Basin. This article presents the concept and an overview of the results of the project Danube Hazard m3c, which was carried out within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme of the EU from 2020 to 2023. In the course of the projec...

PFAS are a class of synthetic chemicals used for many industrial and domestic purposes. However, once released in the environment, they are persistent, mobile and toxic. One of the most important transport routes to drinking water is through riverbank filtration. Although this is usually an effective strategy for removing many organic compounds, it...

The objective of this article is to provide an overview of concentrations of PFAS in different environmental media in the upper Danube catchment area and to draw initial semi-quantitative conclusions about potentially relevant emission pathways of these substances. Within the framework of the EU project PROMISCES, 32 PFAS individual substances were...

Fluorescence spectroscopy has numerous applications to characterize natural and human-influenced water bodies regarding dissolved organic matter (DOM) and contamination. Analyzing samples in a timely manner is crucial to gaining valid and reproducible excitation-emission matrices (EEM) but often difficult, specifically in transnational projects wit...

Zusammenfassung In den letzten Jahren kam es zu einem Paradigmenwechsel bei Kläranlagen, der den alleinigen Zweck der Abwasserreinigung um eine zusätzliche Funktion der Ressourcenrückgewinnung erweiterte. Dieser Wandel geht mit der Entwicklung neuer Rechtsvorschriften einher, die eine bessere Ressourcenrückgewinnung aus dem Abwasser ermöglichen wol...

In this study, we i) assessed the occurrence of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in sediments, pore water, and bulk water from three different areas in Lake Neusiedl, Austria, and ii) investigated mechanisms regulating adsorption and remobilization of these substances under different conditions via multiple lab-scale e...

We developed an innovative approach to estimate the extent of fecal pollution sources for urban river catchments. The methodology consists of 1) catchment surveys complemented by literature data where needed for probabilistic estimates of daily produced fecal indicator (FIBs, E. coli, enterococci) and zoonotic reference pathogen numbers (Campylobac...

Surface water pollution with poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFAS) is a well-recognized problem, but knowledge about contribution of different emission pathways, especially diffuse ones, is very limited. This study investigates the potential of the pathway oriented MoRE model in shedding light on the relevance of different emission pathways on...

Fluorescence spectroscopy has become a widely used technique to characterize dissolved organic matter (DOM) and organic hazardous micro-pollutants in natural and human-influenced water bodies. Especially in rivers highly impacted by municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants' effluents, the fluorescence signal at low-flow is mainly domina...

Within the new policy framework shaped by the EU Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plans, the field of wastewater and sludge treatment in Europe is subject to high expectations and new challenges related to mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, micropollutant removal and resource recovery. With respect to phosphorus recovery, several tec...

Organic and inorganic substances have been emitted into the environment for many decades; however, the interest in their fate and behavior has grown mainly in recent years. Due partly to the meager amount they are present in environmental compartments such as rainwater, river water, or waste waters, substantial resources are needed to detect their...

The identification of critical source areas (CSAs) is a key element in a cost-effective mitigation of diffuse emissions of phosphorus from agricultural soils into surface waters. One of the challenges related to CSAs is how to couple complex, data-intensive fate and transport models with easy-to-use information on field level for management purpose...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas stemming mainly from nitrogen (N)-fertilizer application. It is challenging to quantify N2O emissions from agroecosystems because of the dearth of measured data and high spatial variability of the emissions. The eco-hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) simulates hydrological process...

Recent years came with a paradigm shift for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to extend the sole purpose of contaminant removal to an additional function as resource recovery facilities. This shift is accompanied by the development of new European legislation towards better inclusion of resource recovery from wastewater. However, long operational...

As many regions in sub-Saharan Africa, the border region of Kenya (KE) and Uganda (UG) has faced a declining soil fertility for decades, resulting from soil erosion, intensely managed agricultural soils due to population pressure and small inputs of mineral and organic fertilisers. With limited financial means, farmers need measures and/or technolo...

In this special issue, we are able to present a selection of high-level contributions showing the manifold aspects of the monitoring, modeling, and management of water quality. Monitoring aspects range from cyanobacteria in water using spectrophotometry via wide-area water quality monitoring and exploiting unmanned surface vehicles, to using sentin...

This study presents an algorithm for the allocation of particulate phosphorus (PP) loads entering surface waters to their sources of origin, which is a basic requirement for the identification of critical PP source areas and in turn a cost-effective implementation of mitigation measures. Furthermore, it conducts a sensitivity analysis determining t...

The release of micropollutants in surface water depends on different sources and on different pathways. Through substance flow analysis, this study estimates the annual load of two pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole) in a catchment area, due to different emission pathways: wastewater treatment plant effluent, combined sewer overflo...

The prediction and control of river sediment yield (SY) are critical but challenging tasks. Erosion and sediment transfer in river catchments are controlled by different processes, whose relative importance varies in space and time. We thus put forward that SY can be estimated more efficiently by using explicitly the information contained in the si...

In order to facilitate the prompt management of public health risks from water resources, the fluorescence-based detection of the enzymatic activity of ß-D-glucuronidase (GLUC) has been suggested as a rapid method to monitor fecal pollution. New technological adaptations enable now its automated, near-real-time measurement in a robust and analytica...

Zusammenfassung Die anthropogen verursachte Schadstoffbelastung stellt für das Ökosystem ein potenzielles Risiko dar, weshalb in der EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie Zielzustände definiert wurden, um eine nachhaltige Nutzung von Oberflächengewässern auch zukünftig zu sichern. Die hohe Anzahl an Schadstoffen, die oft auch nur in sehr geringen Konzentration...

This study presents a simple mapping key suitable for quick and systematic assessments of the types of agricultural and civil engineering structures present in a certain agricultural catchment as well as the impact they may have on the spatial distribution of critical source areas. An application of this mapping key to three small sub-catchments of...

Fine sediments and phosphor loads in Upper Austrian rivers A policy papern about the current status and possible mitigation measures. In German language.

Im vorliegenden Artikel wird auf Basis unterschiedlicher Datenquellen in einem ersten Schritt die Belastung des Neusiedler Sees mit national oder gemeinschaftlich geregelten anthropogenen Spurenstoffen dargestellt. Darüber hinaus werden für ausgewählte Stoffe Eintragspfade in Wulka und Neusiedler See identifiziert und für weitere Stoffe wird ein mö...

Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt die Nährstoffdynamik am Neusiedler See, ein Thema, das untrennbar mit den Einträgen und Austauschprozessen der Fest- oder Schwebstoffe verbunden ist. Es werden zusammenfassend ältere Untersuchungen von Anfang der 1980er-Jahre diskutiert und neueren Erkenntnissen aus einem laufenden EU-INTERREG-Projekt (REBEN) gegenü...

By combining an economic two-sector general equilibrium model with a material flow model we study the coupled human-resource-environment feedbacks associated with phosphorus use and recycling, and the economic and environmental effects of implementing phosphorus recovering technologies from waste water. Using recycled phosphorus as fertilizer incre...

Understanding the fate of fecal pollution in the landscape is required for microbial risk analysis. The aim of this study was to assess the patterns and dynamics of beta-D-glucuronidase (GLUC), which has been suggested as a surrogate for fecal pollution monitoring, in a stream draining an agricultural headwater catchment. Automated enzymatic on-sit...

This study presents a simple mapping key suitable for quick and systematic assessments of the types of agricultural and civil engineering structures present in a certain agricultural catchment as well as the impact they may have on the spatial distribution of critical source areas. An application of this mapping key to three small sub-catchments of...

Occurrence and concentration of a broad spectrum of micropollutants are investigated in Austrian river catchments, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organotin compounds, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and metals. The parallel analysis across multiple environmental and engineered compartments sheds...

This study used automated enzymatic activity measurements conducted from a mobile research vessel to detect the spatial variability of beta-D-glucuronidase (GLUC) activity in large freshwater bodies. The ship-borne observations provided the first high-resolution spatial data of GLUC activity in large water bodies as rapid indication of fecal pollut...

Riverbank filtration (RBF) systems along rivers are widely used as public water supplies. In these systems, many organic micropollutants (OMPs) are attenuated, but some compounds have shown to be rather persistent. Their fate and transport has been studied in RBF sites along lakes and small rivers, but not extensively along large and dynamic rivers...

The tremendous increase in resource consumption over the past century and the environmental challenges it entails has spurred discussions for a shift from a linear to a circular resource use. However, to date most resource studies are restricted to one material or a single sector or process. In this work, a coupled material flow analysis taking the...

Numerous bacterial genetic markers are available for the molecular detection of human sources of fecal pollution in environmental waters. However, widespread application is hindered by a lack of knowledge regarding geographical stability, limiting implementation to a small number of well-characterized regions. This study investigates the geographic...

Phosphorus mining from phosphate rock is associated with economic as well as environmental concerns. Through phosphorus recovery from municipal wastewater, countries could decrease their dependency on the global phosphate rock market, however, conceivably leading to an increase in environmental impacts from fertilizer production. In this work 18 ph...

Climate change is a major driver of land use with implications for the quality and quantity of water resources. We apply a novel integrated impact modelling framework (IIMF) to analyze climate change impacts until 2040 and stakeholder driven scenarios on water protection policies for sustainable management of land and water resources in Austria. Th...

There is increasing evidence of water temperature being a key controlling factor of stream ecosystem metabolism. Although the focus of research currently lies on carbon emissions from fluvial networks and their potential role as positive climate feedback, it is also important to estimate the risk of eutrophication streams will be exposed to in the...

Interdisciplinary research and education programmes in water science are intended to produce groundbreaking research, often with an emphasis on societal relevance, and prepare future water resource experts to work across disciplines. This paper explores the emerging outcomes from an ongoing doctoral programme currently in its seventh year. Within t...

Contamination of groundwater by pathogenic viruses from small biological wastewater treatment system discharges in remote areas is a major concern. To protect drinking water wells against virus contamination, safe setback distances are required between wastewater disposal fields and water supply wells. In this study, setback distances are calculate...

Supporting Information S2: This supporting information provides descriptions of flows, stocks, transfer coefficients and equations for their calculation, and data sources.

Supporting Information S4: This supporting information displays the degree of impact that reconciliation has had on the whole system.

Supporting Information S1: This supporting information provides visualizations of the MFA model subsystems.

Supporting Information S3: This supporting information characterizes data uncertainty.

Changes in climatic conditions will directly affect the quality and quantity of water resources. Further on, they will affect them indirectly through adaptation in land use which ultimately influences diffuse nutrient emissions to rivers and therefore potentially the compliance with good ecological status according to the EU Water Framework Directi...

A fully automated on-site device (SAMP-FIL) that enables water sampling with simultaneous filtration and effective cleaning procedures of the device's components was developed and field-tested. The SAMP-FIL was custom-built using commercially available components and was controlled by a RaspberryPi single-board computer operating open-source softwa...

Phosphorus (P) impairment of surface waters still represents a major concern worldwide, despite decades of awareness and implementation of remedial measures. In view of this situation, it is all the more necessary to provide decision makers with reliable modelling tools, which can correctly estimate the effect of alternative management strategies....

Protecting water bodies from eutrophication, ensuring long-term food security and shifting to a circular economy represent compelling objectives to phosphorus management strategies. This study determines how and to which extent the management of phosphorus in Austria can be optimized. A detailed national model, obtained for the year 2013 through Ma...

Contamination of groundwater by pathogenic viruses from small biological wastewater treatment system discharges in remote areas is a major concern. To protect drinking water wells against virus contamination, safe setback distances are required between wastewater disposal fields and water supply wells. In this study, setback distances are calculate...

Phosphorus (P) is an essential and limited resource. Municipal wastewater is a promising source of P via reuse and could be used to replace P derived from phosphate rocks. The agricultural use of sewage sludge is restricted by legislation or is not practiced in several European countries due to environmental risks posed by organic micropollutants a...