Abstract
Water quality is a key indicator of human health. Wuliangsuhai Lake plays an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of the region, protecting the local species diversity and maintaining agricultural development. However, it is also facing a greater risk of water quality deterioration. The 24 water quality factors that this study focused on were analyzed in water samples collected during the irrigation period and non-irrigation period from 19 different sites in Wuliangsuhai Lake, Inner Mongolia, China. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were conducted to evaluate complex water quality data and to explore the sources of pollution. The results showed that, during the irrigation period, sites in the middle part of the lake (clusters 1 and 3) had higher pollution levels due to receiving most of the agricultural and some industrial wastewater from the Hetao irrigation area. During the non-irrigation period, the distribution of the comprehensive pollution index was the opposite of that seen during the irrigation period, and the degree of pollutant index was reduced significantly. Thus, run-off from the Hetao irrigation area is likely to be the main source of pollution.
Highlights
Water quality is affected by both anthropogenic activities and natural factors, with the latter influencing surface water quality through industrial sewage, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and the increased exploitation of water resources [1,2,3]
The basic statistics calculated for the water quality of Wuliangsuhai Lake are summarized in
CODmn refers to the amount of oxidant consumed in the treatment of water samples with the strong oxidant, which was used to indicate the degree of mixed pollution
Summary
Water quality is affected by both anthropogenic activities and natural factors, with the latter influencing surface water quality through industrial sewage, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and the increased exploitation of water resources [1,2,3]. Such influences have led to a decrease in water quality, generating great pressure on the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems [4,5,6]. Not all water quality factors could be included in a single class [7], which can lead to confusion in defining the quality of sampling sites.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call