Legacy & Emerging Contaminants

Contaminants of concern to humans and wildlife often make their way into NYS waters due to natural processes or human activities. Many of these contaminants are labeled as “legacy” due to a firmly established body of research spanning decades on aspects relating to their prevalence, transport, and transformation in the environment. These include heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides, which are synthetic organic chemicals often released from industrial or agricultural processes, and disinfection by-products (DBPs), compounds that form upon disinfection of water to make it safe for consumption. “Emerging” contaminants are compounds that have historically been unmonitored, unregulated, and (to an extent) unknown, but have come to the forefront of research in recent years due in part to improved technological capabilities and to apparent indications of risk to public health. Examples include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), novel pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics. The release, transport, transformation, and toxicity of these contaminants and many others causes significant health, economic, and environmental impacts, making them a problem at the regional, national, and even global levels. WRI is involved in conducting and funding research and outreach projects into the source, transport, fate, and remediation of legacy and emerging contaminants in NYS waters. 

Program Goals

  • Effectively monitor legacy contaminants and identify the prevalence and severity of emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems with a focus on source and finished drinking water.
  • Investigate mitigation and remediation strategies for removal of contaminants in source and drinking water.
  • Identify and assess the conditions and environmental stressors within a watershed (e.g., extreme weather events, introduction of invasive species, interactions among micropollutants) that influence the transport, transformation, and toxicity of contaminants in source and drinking waters.
  • Analyze and evaluate the connections between access to safe drinking water and community demographics (e.g., race, income, and housing).
  • Create research summaries to effectively communicate the findings of WRI to local communities, municipalities, and state and local government agencies. This can be in the form of resource lists (see example here), fact sheets (see examples here and here), and short communications (see example here).
  • Synthesize the research findings to create ArcGIS StoryMaps (see example here) that can be shared with the staff of state and federal agencies. StoryMaps can be used to: 1) create an effective means of outreach on topics of great concern (e.g., lead, PFAS, and 1,4-dioxane in water) to stakeholders; and 2) shed the light on crucial water quality issues that face underprivileged and underserved communities; and 3) justify the potential upgrade of aging water and wastewater infrastructure across the state.
  • Incorporate a DEI/EJ lens into staff and intern projects relating to contaminants in and safe access to drinking water.
  • Include the findings on DEI/EJ into relevant outreach materials and disseminate the results to the stakeholders.
Legacy & Emerging Contaminants Five-Year Summary
Illustration of a water fountain in a public school setting with a maze of dark pipes leading to it with some lead residue under the pipes.
Illustration representing lead in NYS public school waters used in the lead contamination in NYS public school waters: 2020-2023 StoryMap. Illustration by Danielle Del Plato, 2024.

Select Projects & Publications