Phthalic acid esters: Are they a big concern for rivers flowing into reservoir with ecological facilities?

The city-river-reservoir system is an important system for safeguarding drinking water. Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are emerging contaminants in drinking water sources that are gaining attention, and they could pose risks to human health and aquatic organisms. In this study, field studies that lasted four years were conducted to analyze the concentrations, spatial-temporal distribution, and removal effects of six PAEs. The total concentrations of the Σ6PAEs in the water and sediment samples were 0.2–7.4 μg L −1 (mean: 1.3 μg L −1 ) and 9.2–9594.1 ng g −1 (mean: 847.5 ng g −1 ), respectively. Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the predominant congeners, accounting for 57.2 % in the water samples and 94.1 % in the sediment samples. The urban area contributed 72 % of the PAEs in the system. A significant removal effect of PAEs was observed in the wetland, with a removal rate of 40.2 %. The partitioning of PAEs between the water and sediment was attributed to the removal of dimethyl phthalate and diethyl phthalate that occurred during the water phase, while the removal of DBP and DEHP primarily occurred during the sediment phase. The ecological risk calculation based on the sensitivity distribution model indicated that DBP (HQ water = 0.19, HQ sediment = 0.46) and DEHP (HQ water = 0.20, HQ sediment = 0.13) possessed moderate risks according to some water and sediment samples. The ecological projects were verified to be effective engineering strategies to reduce ecological risk in the drinking water source.