Emerging pollutants, such as antibiotics and antibiotic-resistance genes, are becoming increasingly
important sources of safety and health concerns. Drinking water safety, which is closely related to
human health, should receive more attention than natural water body safety. However, minimal
research has been performed on the efficacy of existing treatment processes in water treatment plants
for the removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. To address this research gap, this study
detected and analyzed six main antibiotics and nine antibiotic resistance genes in the treatment
processes of two drinking water plants in Wuhan. Samples were collected over three months and then
detected and analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass
spectrometry and fluorescence quantitation. The total concentrations of antibiotics and antibiotic
resistance genes in the influent water of the two water plants were characterized as December > March
> June. The precipitation and filtration processes of the Zou Maling Water Plant and Yu Shidun Water
Plant successfully removed the antibiotics. The ozone-activated carbon process increased the removal
rate of most antibiotics to 100%. However, a large amount of antibiotic resistance gene residues
remained in the effluents of the two water plants. The experiments demonstrated that the existing
ozone-activated carbon processes could not effectively remove antibiotic resistance genes. This study
provides a reference for the optimization of drinking water treatment processes for antibiotics and
antibiotic resistance gene removal.