Assessing water quality for urban tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Abazar Mostafaei,Benyou Jia,Jiangyu Dai,Senlin Zhu,Wenguang Luo

doi:10.2166/wrd.2018.010

Abstract

Abstract Water quality assessment is essential for water resources management. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of water quality conditions in three urban tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI) and Nemerow Pollution Index (NPI) approach were used in this study. Generally, the assessment results of the NPI approach are consistent with that of the CCME-WQI approach. However, the NPI method overemphasized the influence of the most serious pollutant factor, and thus this method should be used with caution for water resources managers. The CCME-WQI values indicated that the water quality conditions in the Wubu River were quite good during the period 2013–2015. Water quality conditions in the upstream sections of Yipin and Huaxi River are good. However, when the river drains through urban areas, water quality conditions greatly deteriorate due to the excessive release of household and municipal sewage, and industrial wastewater, especially for Huaxi River. Thus, waste water management becomes more and more imperative in urban regions of China. Meanwhile, assessment results indicate that the CCME-WQI approach can provide a reference for decision-makers on water resources management.

Highlights

In China, the single factor pollution index (SFPI) method is the most commonly used approach to evaluate water quality conditions in surface water bodies (Yan et al )
In the SFPI method, water quality indexes are normally categorized based on the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water in China (GB3838-2002), which was published by the Ministry of Environment Protection of China in 2002
The CCME-WQI approach provides a flexible index template, and allows researchers to select appropriate water quality objectives according to their own requirements (CCME ; Hurley et al )

Summary

Introduction

In China, the single factor pollution index (SFPI) method is the most commonly used approach to evaluate water quality conditions in surface water bodies (Yan et al ). The SFPI approach can provide water quality classification for the assessed water quality indexes. It uses the worst water quality classification of the assessed water quality indexes as the final water quality The CCME-WQI approach provides a flexible index template, and allows researchers to select appropriate water quality objectives according to their own requirements (CCME ; Hurley et al ). Due to the flexibility of the CCME-WQI approach, it has been applied

Objectives

Methods

Results