Sediment

Aquatic ecosystem

Ecology

Biology

Pollution

Water resource management

Water quality

Paleontology

Water source

Microplastics

Environmental chemistry

Environmental science

Chemistry

Water pollution

Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology

As the source of water for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China, the water quality of the Danjiangkou Reservoir (DJKR) is related to the safety of drinking water for billions of residents. Consequently, microplastics in surface water and sediment samples of the DJKR were investigated in this study. Microplastics were observed in all water and sediment samples with abundances varying from 467 to 15,017 n/m3 and 15 to 40 n/kg wet weight, respectively. Microplastics were rich in colour and dominated by fibrous items. Small-sized particles (< 2 mm) were more frequently observed than other sizes. Analysis by micro-Raman spectroscopy showed that polypropylene was the major polymer type. These systematic results demonstrated that the DJKR is suffering from the pollution of microplastics, which should be paid more attention based on its potential threat to the aquatic organisms and residents impacted by the drinking water source pollution.

Manuscript prepared for submission to environmental toxicology and pharmacology pollution in drinking water source areas: Microplastics in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, China