With increasing population growth and climate change, de facto reuse practices are predicted to increase globally. We investigated a longitudinal gradient within the Uhlava River, a representative watershed, where de facto reuse is actively occurring, during Fall and Spring seasons when instream flows vary. We observed human pharmaceutical levels in the river to continuously increase from the mountainous areas upstream to downstream locations and a potable intake location, with the highest concentrations found in small tributaries. Significant relationship was identified between mass flow of pharmaceuticals and the size of human populations contributing to wastewater treatment plant discharges. Advanced ozonation and granular activated carbon filtration effectively removed pharmaceuticals from potable source waters. We observed a higher probability of encountering a number of targeted pharmaceuticals during colder Spring months when stream flows were elevated compared to warmer conditions with lower flows in the Fall despite a dilution paradigm routinely applied for surface water quality assessment and management efforts. Such observations translated to greater water quality hazards during these higher Spring flows. Future water monitoring efforts should account for periods when higher chemical uses occur, particularly in the face of climate change for regions experiencing population growth and de facto reuse.

Comenius University in Bratislava Faculty of Natural Sciences Department of Analytical Chemistry Ilkovičova 6 SK 842 15 Bratislava Slovak Republic

Department of Environmental Science Institute of Biomedical Studies Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research Baylor University Waco TX 76798 USA

Department of Wildlife Fish and Environmental Studies Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Umeå Sweden

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses Zátiší 728 2 CZ 389 25 Vodňany Czech Republic