EcoImprove: Revealing aquatic ecological effects of micropollutant discharge from municipal wastewater treatment plants

Micropollutants (MPs) discharged from municipal wastewater treatment plants are of great environmental concern due to their toxicities to aquatic organisms. Given the knowledge gaps on how MPs affect receiving aquatic ecosystems, we initiated the EcoImprove project to unravel the causal relationship between MP discharge and variation in biocommunity (especially microbial community) composition and function in receiving aquatic ecosystems. After integrating laboratory studies, field investigations, and flume simulation experiments from 2014 to 2021, we investigated how different MPs affect the growth and metabolic function of microbial species, developed several microbial indicators to evaluate the effects of MP discharge on receiving rivers, and evaluated the ecological benefits of municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrade on receiving aquatic ecosystems. Here, we summarize the main outcomes of the EcoImprove project and propose future research plans to deepen our understanding of the ecological impacts of anthropogenic activity.