Distribution and characteristics of wastewater treatment plants within the global river network

Abstract. The main objective of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is to remove pathogens, nutrients, organics, and other pollutants from wastewater. After these contaminants are partially or fully removed through physical, biological, and/or chemical processes, the treated effluents discharged into receiving waterbodies. However, since WWTPs cannot all contaminants, especially those emerging concern, they inevitably represent concentrated point sources residual contaminant loads surface waters. To understand severity extent impact treated-wastewater discharges such facilities rivers lakes, as well identify opportunities improved management, detailed information about required, including (1) their explicit geospatial locations waterbodies affected (2) individual plant characteristics population served, flow rate effluents, level processed These important for fate models that designed assess distribution substances not typically included in environmental monitoring programs. Although there several regional datasets provide on WWTP characteristics, data still lacking at a global scale, developing countries. Here we introduce spatially database, termed HydroWASTE, containing 58 502 characteristics. This database was developed by combining national with auxiliary derive complete missing number people served. A high-resolution river network streamflow estimates used georeference outfall calculate each plant's dilution factor (i.e., ratio natural discharge waterbody effluent discharge). utility this demonstrated an assessment scale. Results show 1 200 000 km receives input upstream WWTPs, which more than 90 downstream offer only primary treatment. Wastewater ratios originating exceed 10 % over 72 rivers, mostly areas high densities Europe, USA, China, India, South Africa. In addition, 2533 less 10, represents common threshold concern. HydroWASTE can be accessed https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14847786.v1 (Ehalt Macedo et al., 2021).