Pressure on water resources is increasing rapidly as a consequence of population growth. This situation is especially dramatic in urban areas, which are expected to amass 70% of the world population by 2050. Hence, potential water shortages is encouraging research into alternative water resources such as urban groundwater. However, urban aquifers are contaminated by a vast array of organic contaminants, such as pharmaceutical and personal care products, pesticides or industrial compounds. These contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) suppose a high risk for the environment and for the human health, and their occurrence, fate and evolution must be established in order to use urban groundwater safely.

This session welcomes contributions that deliver new insight in the field of CECs in groundwater, including reports from new field observations, laboratory experiments and field tests, numerical modelling or case studies.