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Evaluating surface water quality using water quality index in Beiyun River, China

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Abstract

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration is one of the most water-scarce regions in China, because of the frequent human activities. Water scarcity and pollution have weakened the service functions of water ecosystems and hindered the regional economic development. As the “lifeline” of the economic development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the water quality of Beiyun River has been widely concerned. River water quality assessment is one of the most important aspects to enhance water resources management plans. Water quality index (WQI), as one of the most frequently used evaluation tools, was used to comprehensively analyze the water quality in the Beiyun River. Between January 2017 and October 2018, we collected samples from 16 typical sampling sites along the main rivers of the watershed, covering four seasons. Seventeen water quality parameters, including temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total phosphorus (TP), oil, volatile phenol (VP), fluoride, sulfide, surfactant, lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As), were used to calculate WQI. The average WQI values of Beiyun River in winter, spring, summer, and autumn were 88.15, 71.70, 78.92, and 90.12, respectively, explaining the water quality was “good” generally. There were significant differences in the spatial distribution of WQI values from Beiyun River, and water quality of upstream and downstream was better than that of midstream. In addition, correlation analysis was applied to explore the correlation between land use types and water quality. Water quality was significant negatively correlated with agriculture land and rural residential land, and a positive relationship between urban land and water quality. Generally, we believe that people’s related activities on different land use are major elements impacting the water quality. Water environment improvement ought to increase the wastewater collection rate and sewage treatment capacity in rural areas, especially in the midstream of the Beiyun River.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Water Pollution Control and Treatment of the National Science and Technology Major Project (2018ZX07111003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Huihui Wu, Yunqiang Zhao, Yuhang Zhang, Qianhui Yuan & Aijun Lin

  2. Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, People’s Republic of China

    Wenjie Yang, Ruihua Yao & Yue Zhao

  3. College of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China

    Wenjie Yang

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  1. Huihui Wu
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Correspondence to Aijun Lin.

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Highlight

• We assessed water quality and its spatiotemporal variations of Beiyun River.

• The water quality of the upstream and downstream was better than that of the midstream.

• Water quality was significant positively correlated with urban land (%).

• Water quality was significant negatively correlated with agriculture land (%) and rural residential land (%).

• Rural life was the main source of water pollution.

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Wu, H., Yang, W., Yao, R. et al. Evaluating surface water quality using water quality index in Beiyun River, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 35449–35458 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09682-4

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