Suspect-screening analysis of a coastal watershed before and after Hurricane Florence using high-resolution mass spectrometry.

On September 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence delivered ~686 mm rainfall to a 106 km2 watershed in coastal North Carolina, USA. A forested land treatment site comprises one third of the watershed wherein municipal wastewater effluent is spray-irrigated onto 8.9 km2 of forest. This communication provides insight for land treatment function under excess water duress as well as changes in organic chemical composition in on- and off-site waters before (June 2018) and after (September & December 2018) Hurricane Florence's landfall. We compare the numbers and relative abundances of chemical features detected using suspect screening high resolution mass spectrometry in waste-, ground-, and surface water samples. Values for upstream and receiving waters in September were lower than for sampling events in June and December, indicating an expected dilution effect across the watershed. Chemical diversity was greatest for all surface water samples in December, but only upstream surface water showed a dramatic five-fold increase in relative chemical abundance. Chemical abundance in on-site water and downstream surface water was equal to or lower than the September storm dilution effect. These data suggest that the land treatment system is functionally and hydrologically robust to extreme storm events and contributed to dilution of upstream chemical reservoirs for downstream receiving waters for months after the storm. Similar systems may embody one water reuse strategy robust to the increasing occurrence of extreme precipitation events.