On‐Site Exposure to Treated Wastewater Effluent Has Subtle Effects on Male Fathead Minnows and Pronounced Effects on Carp

This study tested the hypotheses that (1) exposure to treated Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) effluent will induce biological effects in exposed fish that are consistent with environmental estrogen (EE) exposure; and (2) seasonal differences in effluent composition will moderate biological effects. We conducted seven on‐site exposures using a mobile laboratory. Total estrogenicity of effluents was 10‐ to 20‐fold higher during spring than in fall. Common EEs including steroid estrogens, alkylphenols, and bisphenol‐A were ubiquitous. An unusual spike in total estrogenicity identified a combined sewer overflow event. Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) responded to exposure with subtle changes in vitellogenin concentrations and secondary sex characteristics. An opportunity to assess a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) population permanently sustained inside the Stickney WRP revealed pronounced exposure effects, but also the resilience of biological organisms even under long‐term exposure. In contrast to other studies, no histopathological changes were found. The mobile exposure laboratory proved capable of maintaining U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‐recommended exposure conditions while providing flexibility for rapid deployment at multiple sites with minimal operational disruption. Further studies using this platform hold promise to resolve the convoluted interactions between complex effluents and inherent biological complexity.     

Impacts of 21st‐Century Climate Change on Hydrologic Extremes in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America

Climate change projections for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of North America include warmer temperatures (T), reduced precipitation (P) in summer months, and increased P during all other seasons. Using a physically based hydrologic model and an ensemble of statistically downscaled global climate model scenarios produced by the Columbia Basin Climate Change Scenarios Project, we examine the nature of changing hydrologic extremes (floods and low flows) under natural conditions for about 300 river locations in the PNW. The combination of warming, and shifts in seasonal P regimes, results in increased flooding and more intense low flows for most of the basins in the PNW. Flood responses depend on average midwinter T and basin type. Mixed rain and snow basins, with average winter temperatures near freezing, typically show the largest increases in flood risk because of the combined effects of warming (increasing contributing basin area) and more winter P. Decreases in low flows are driven by loss of snowpack, drier summers, and increasing evapotranspiration in the simulations. Energy‐limited basins on the west side of the Cascades show the strongest declines in low flows, whereas more arid, water‐limited basins on the east side of the Cascades show smaller reductions in low flows. A fine‐scale analysis of hydrologic extremes over the Olympic Peninsula echoes the results for the larger rivers discussed above, but provides additional detail about topographic gradients.