Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NJ_2023_Ariyarantha-Buckley

Pre-and post-storm PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) distribution in Atlantic City Reservoir and connected streams

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $20,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $20,000

Principal Investigators: Thivanka Ariyarathna, Brian T. Buckley

Project Summary: PFAS is a class of persistent environmental contaminants that has toxic effects on human and animal health. PFAS enters the environment via both point and non-point sources. Since drinking water is the primary source of PFAS to humans, continuous monitoring of drinking water sources is vital to provide safe water to the residents. Atlantic City Reservoir provides drinking water to the residents of Atlantic City which is a heavily urbanized and polluted region in New Jersey and storm events may further increase the risk of contamination via storm runoff. Given the limited data available for PFAS distribution patterns in Atlantic City up to date, we will quantify concentrations of 14 PFAS compounds in Atlantic City Reservoir and four connected streams. We will estimate riverine mass fluxes of PFAS in stream inflow and outflow of the reservoir to evaluate the role of rivers on total standing load of PFAS in the reservoir. Since identification of sources is critical to regulate PFAS inputs to the environment, we will evaluate correlations of PFAS distribution and land use that streams flow through before entering the reservoir. It will delineate the possible sources contributing to the levels of PFAS in Atlantic City Reservoir. The contribution of storm runoff to the total PFAS load in the drinking water sources in southern New Jersey has not been studied yet. Therefore, we will analyze pre- and poststorm PFAS concentrations, and it will provide valuable insights on storm effects of PFAS distribution in Atlantic City Reservoir and streams.