Trace pharmaceuticals in water - how big is the impact?

Researchers at the Cary Institute recently published a study on amphetamines (from both legal and illegal types) found in urban streams. More importantly, the researchers observed the following impacts at 1 ppb (part per billion) concentrations of amphetamine:

• Growth of biofilms were suppressed
• Bacterial and diatom communities changed
• Aquatic insects emerged earlier

While none of these impacts on the surface seem great, the changes are at the base of the food web which can make for major problems as you move to more apex creatures including humans. After reading the article, I am convinced that we will find significant impacts from many of our common pharmaceuticals that will eventually make wastewater treatment permits include removal of trace amounts. Key is what technology will prove most effective in removing xenobiotics at ppb levels.

Here is a link to a news release by the Cary Institute. 
http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom/ecological-consequences-amphetamine-pollution-urban-streams

Here is the link to the full article in Environmental Science & Technology.
Occurrence and Potential Biological Effects of Amphetamine on Stream Communities
Sylvia S. Lee, Alexis M. Paspalof, Daniel D. Snow, Erinn K. Richmond, Emma J. Rosi-Marshall, and John J. Kelly. Environmental Science & Technology . DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03717http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.6b03717