The quality of water environment is closely linked to the survival and development of human beings. Thanks to the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan, the quality of the water environment has improved significantly. However, challenges remain in the surface water environment due to human activities in the basin. We analyze the surface water quality of the six state-controlled rivers in Zaozhuang City, which are key tributaries to the Nansi Lake and the water storage and distribution area of the South-to-North Water Diversion East Project. Physical-chemical parameters and metal pollutants were detected from 2016 to 2022. The Various indices were used for evaluating the surface water environmental quality and pollution issue. Although there were significant inter-year differences in each river, the results of Water quality index and Nemerow composite index analysis indicated that the water quality of the six rivers has continuously improved over the years. Nevertheless, as this research reports, such as considerable annual fluctuations in pollution factors, obvious pollution characteristics in river basins, and difficulty in controlling non-point source pollution, which still restrict the further improvement of the water environment. Each river presents various water environment problems due to differences in industrial structures within its basin. Through the analysis of production and lifestyle in each basin, the main pollution sources of each river were evaluated and determined. Based on the type and characteristics of pollution sources, control measures and optimization strategies are proposed for the improvement of the water environment.