Spatiotemporal variations of river water turbidity in responding to rainstorm-streamflow processes and farming activities in a mountainous catchment, Lai Chi Wo, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

River turbidity is an important factor in evaluating environmental water quality, and turbidity dynamics can reflect water sediment changes. During rainfall periods, specifically in mountainous areas, river turbidity varies dramatically, and knowledge of spatiotemporal turbidity variations in association with rainfall features and farming activities is valuable for soil erosion prevention and catchment management. However, due to the difficulties in collecting reliable field turbidity data during rainstorms at a fine temporal scale, our understanding of the features of turbidity variations in mountainous rivers is still vague. This study conducted field measurements of hydrological and environmental variables in a mountainous river, the Lai Chi Wo river, in Hong Kong, China. The study results revealed that variations of turbidity graphs during rainstorms closely match variations of streamflow hydrographs, and the occurrence of the turbidity peaks and water level peaks are almost at the same time. Moreover, the study disclosed that the increasing rates of the turbidity values are closely related to the rainfall intensity at temporal scales of 15 and 20 min, and the impact of farming activities on river turbidity changes is largely dependent on rainfall intensity. In the study area, when the rainfall intensity is larger than 35 mm/hr at a time interval of 15 min, the surface runoff over the farmland would result in higher river water turbidity downstream than that upstream. The study results would enrich our understanding of river water turbidity dynamics at minute scales and be valuable for further exploration of the river water environment in association with turbidity.