Water quality characteristics along the course of the Huangpu River (China)

Huangpu River is about 114.5 km from upriver Dianfeng to downriver Wusong, near the estuary of the Yangtze River. It plays a key role in supplying water for production, life, shipment and irrigation. With the industrial development, the pollution of the Huangpu River has become serious recently. The biological oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), oil, phenol and suspended solids (SS) were lower in the upstream sites than in the downstream sites, indicating pollutants being input along its course. Water quality was the worst in the Yangpu site, near the center of Shanghai City. Dissolved oxygen (DO) content was less than 2 mg/L in the site of Yangpu in July. Among relations between thirteen characteristics, relations between BOD, DO, TN, TP, NH4+-N, NO3−-N and the count of total bacteria or Escherichia coli were significant and interdependent. Inner relationships between these main characteristics in the Huangpu River were studied. High nutrient concentration led to growth of microorganisms, including E. coli. Degradation of organic matters and respiration of bacteria made oxygen concentration decreased in the water body, and DO was a key factor for nitrification-denitrification process of nitrogen. In the Yangpu site, DO was decreased to less than 3.0 mg/L with BOD higher than 7.5 mg/L in May and July. Low DO concentration will decrease nitrification rate. Nitrification need at higher DO value than other organic substrate oxidation. Consequently, river water contains low NO3−-N values with high amounts of TN and NH4+-N there. This will block the self-purification of surface water, by decreasing the rate of nitrification-denitrification transformation process in the water body.