Wastewater treatment plants are an important source of phosphorus to the environment. They are estimated to bring between 25 and 45 % of total phosphorus in freshwaters. This study describes how discharged phosphate releases arsenic from streambed sediments into freshwaters. After seven years, the concentration of total As in the streambed sediment below the wastewater treatment plant decreased by 25 % due competitive desorption of arsenate by phosphate.

Petra Venhauerova, Petr Drahota, Ladislav Strnad, Šárka Matoušková (2022): Effects of a point source of phosphorus on the arsenic mobility and transport in a small fluvial system. Environmental Pollution 315, 120477. (DOI)