Distribution and fate of surface active agents in river and lake water, affected by domestic and agricultural wastewater, in an area in Japan

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the conditions surrounding the outbreak for anionic surface active‐agents in water at river, lake and seaside. The anionic surface active‐agents found in sewage usually come from detergents and chemicals. The daily changes in the concentration of surfactants in river water were affected by the wastewater from residential areas corresponding with washing times at morning, lunch, and dinner on December 29–30,1993. The range of concentrations of anionic surfactants in river water was 74–355 μg/L, average 180 μg/L in May; 74–472 μg/L, average 153μg/L in July; 79–383 μg/L, average 152 μg/L in September; 71–394 μg/L, average195 μg/L in December in 1993. The reduction of the concentration of the anionic surfactants with downstream flow was to dilution with irrigation water but also to biodegradation.