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Emerging Contaminants in Water Environments: Occurrence, Analysis and Ecotoxicity
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Emerging Contaminants in Water Environments: Occurrence, Analysis and Ecotoxicity

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026 | Viewed by 1549

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chong Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Interests: emerging contaminant; estuary; ecological risk assessment; ecotoxicity; oceanography; pharmaceuticals and personal care products; endocrine-disrupting chemicals; pesticides
Prof. Dr. Limin Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Interests: geochemistry; ecological engineering; environmental engineering; ecology; pesticide; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances; stable isotope
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jing Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Interests: harmful algal blooms; cyanotoxins; marine lipophilic toxins; bioremediation; marine chemical ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue "Emerging Contaminants in Water Environments: Occurrence, Analysis and Ecotoxicity" aims to concentrate on research related to the spatial–temporal distribution of emerging contaminants in water environments, encompassing rivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and marine settings. This Special Issue will particularly explore target analysis, suspect screening, and non-target analysis of emerging contaminants and their degradation or transformation products during migration and transformation processes within water environments.

Typical emerging contaminants of interest include phycotoxins, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and pesticides, among others. Research on the distribution of these chemicals in aquatic organisms and the ecotoxicity mechanisms exhibited on these organisms will also be a focal point.

Moreover, we welcome studies that delve into advanced measurement techniques, the utilization of modeling approaches, artificial intelligence applications, and related research in this field. The comprehensive scope of this Special Issue aims to shed light on the multifaceted aspects of emerging contaminants and their impact on water ecosystems.

The launch of this Special Issue aligns well with the aims and scope of the Water journal. It serves to enhance the journal's focus on the advancements in the field of water environments, incorporating hot topics related to water ecosystems and emerging pollutants. Ultimately, it aims to offer readers the most up-to-date insights within this domain, addressing pressing scientific questions at the forefront of research.

Dr. Chong Chen
Prof. Dr. Limin Ma
Dr. Jing Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • spatial–temporal distribution
  • target analysis
  • suspect screening
  • non-target analysis
  • environmental impact
  • ecological risk
  • ecotoxicology mechanism

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 995 KB  
Article
Antibiotics Induce Metabolic and Physiological Responses in Daphnia magna
by Katie O’Rourke, Izabela Antepowicz, Beatrice Engelmann, Ulrike Rolle-Kampczyk, Martin von Bergen and Konstantinos Grintzalis
Water 2026, 18(2), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020265 - 20 Jan 2026
Viewed by 830
Abstract
Antibiotics represent a unique and diverse group of drugs, which are known to exert deleterious effects on non-target species and contribute to the phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance. With central inclusion on the EU Surface Water Watch List, and reported known affects in multiple [...] Read more.
Antibiotics represent a unique and diverse group of drugs, which are known to exert deleterious effects on non-target species and contribute to the phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance. With central inclusion on the EU Surface Water Watch List, and reported known affects in multiple model organisms, the importance of the sufficient monitoring of antibiotics in the aquatic environment has been highlighted. Most studies report the impact of individual antibiotics following exposure for a single generation in animals. In this study, we assessed the impact of four antibiotics with different modes of action (amoxicillin, trimethoprim, erythromycin, and sulfamethoxazole) and their mixture on the sentinel species Daphnia magna over three generations, via biochemical markers and a targeted metabolomic analysis of central metabolic pathways. No mortality was observed at 50 mg/L of each selected antibiotic and their composite mixture. Thus, a working concentration of 1 mg/L was chosen to progress this study. Results indicated that enzyme activity was particularly sensitive to exposure to amoxicillin and the mixture, whereas trimethoprim and the mixture induced the most metabolic changes in glycolysis and the TCA cycle. Additionally, the quaternary mixture had a stronger impact on the first generation of daphnids, altering the activity of β-galactosidase, glutathione S-transferase, and acid and alkaline phosphatase, suggesting that Daphnia can adapt to stress caused by antibiotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants in Water Environments: Occurrence, Analysis and Ecotoxicity)
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Review

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23 pages, 337 KB  
Review
From Abiotic Filters to Dynamic Biofilm Reactors for the Treatment of Diffuse Agricultural Pollution: A Comprehensive Review
by Soledad González-Juárez, Nora Ruiz-Ordaz and Juvencio Galíndez-Mayer
Water 2026, 18(8), 983; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18080983 - 21 Apr 2026
Viewed by 337
Abstract
Diffuse pollution from agricultural runoff, characterized by intermittent discharges of complex contaminant mixtures, including nutrients, pesticides, and heavy metals (HMs), poses a persistent threat to global water quality. Conventional “end-of-pipe” strategies often fail to address these decentralized, nonpoint sources. This review examines the [...] Read more.
Diffuse pollution from agricultural runoff, characterized by intermittent discharges of complex contaminant mixtures, including nutrients, pesticides, and heavy metals (HMs), poses a persistent threat to global water quality. Conventional “end-of-pipe” strategies often fail to address these decentralized, nonpoint sources. This review examines the evolution of Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs) from static, abiotic filters into modern Permeable Reactive Bio-Barriers (PRBBs), engineered as dynamic, fixed-bed biofilm reactors. A key advancement in PRBB efficacy is the exploitation of biofilm plasticity, particularly in response to coexistence with organic and inorganic pollutants. While heavy metals are traditionally viewed as inhibitors, this review synthesizes evidence showing that subinhibitory HM levels can act as structural and functional drivers. These metals induce the upregulation of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPSs), creating a “protective shield” that sequesters metals and confers functional resilience on the microbial consortia responsible for nutrient removal and pesticide biodegradation. The review analyzes contaminant removal mechanisms, highlighting the bio-chemo synergy between reactive media and biofilms, and proposes a classification framework based on target contaminants, media, and technological integration. Significant focus is placed on emerging hybrid multi-media systems designed to protect the microbial community from toxic metal shocks, alongside the integration of artificial intelligence for predictive control. While challenges in hydraulic sustainability and field validation remain, PRBBs represent a compact, low-energy, and scalable ecotechnology. PRBBs offer a strategically targeted solution within the Nature-Based Solutions toolkit for building resilient protection of aquatic ecosystems at the critical land-water interface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Contaminants in Water Environments: Occurrence, Analysis and Ecotoxicity)
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