How polluted is the Yangtze river? Water quality downstream from the Three Gorges Dam

Müller, Beat; Berg, Michael; Yao, Zhi Ping; Zhang, Xian Feng; Ding, Wang; Pfluger, August

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.049

Cited by 280 publications

(149 citation statements)

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“…2), and the range compared well with previous measurements reported for the Yangtze River (Wu et al, 2007;Müller et al, 2008). During the dry season in the fall and winter, when water discharge can get as low as 12,000 m 3 /s (Fig.…”

Section: Organic Carbon In Water and Suspended Particlessupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The rapid economic growth and expansion of these cities have placed enormous environmental pressure on the Yangtze River, including overexploitation in terms of hydropower (Qiu, 2012), fishing, cargo ship traffic, the disposal of sewage and industrial waste (Dudgeon, 2010), and an inundation of polluted land (Zhang and Lou, 2011;Yang et al, 2012). At the same time, a rapidly increasing urban population depends on the Yangtze River as the sole source of drinking water, although the concentrations of many organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phthalates, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and many other household, agricultural, and industrial chemicals, are increasing and threaten water security (He et al, 2011;Müller et al, 2008Müller et al, , 2012. Moreover, the cocktail of inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, oil hydrocarbons, organic matter, and heavy metals is expected to fuel algae blooms and "red tides" (Li and Dag, 2004), and trace elements and persistent organic chemicals-especially those related to suspended particles-may accumulate in the food chain of this productive shelf region, thus increasing the threat to human health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In November 2006, Müller et al (2008 studied the middle and lower part of the Yangtze River from the Three Gorges Dam downstream to Shanghai and presented a snapshot overview of the longitudinal distribution of water constituents and anthropogenic chemicals. These authors screened for organic pollutants with limits of detection of 0.1 to 0.5 μg/L for dissolved compounds and 0.1 to 5 μg/g for particleassociated compounds, thereby detecting only the most notorious pollutants due to the high water discharge of the Yangtze.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic micropollutants in the Yangtze River: Seasonal occurrence and annual loads

Müller

Pernet-Coudrier

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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107

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• The Yangtze River drains 40% of China's mainland with 400 million inhabitants • Monthly concentrations and annual loads of organic pollutants were determined • Seasonality of loads of PAHs, most pesticides, and antiinfectives were concise • In spite of low concentrations due to high water discharge, pollutant loads are considerable a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Twenty percent of the water run-off from China's land surface drains into the Yangtze River and carries the sewage of approximately 400 million people out to sea. The lower stretch of the Yangtze therefore offers the opportunity to assess the pollutant discharge of a huge population. To establish a comprehensive assessment of micropollutants, river water samples were collected monthly from May 2009 to June 2010 along a crosssection at the lowermost hydrological station of the Yangtze River not influenced by the tide (Datong Station, Anhui province). Following a prescreening of 268 target compounds, we examined the occurrence, seasonal variation, and annual loads of 117 organic micropollutants, including 51 pesticides, 43 pharmaceuticals, 7 household and industrial chemicals, and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). During the 14-month study, the maximum concentrations of particulate PAHs (1-5 μg/g), pesticides (11-284 ng/L), pharmaceuticals (5-224 ng/L), and household and industrial chemicals (4-430 ng/L) were generally lower than in other Chinese rivers due to the dilution caused of the Yangtze River's average water discharge of approximately 30,000 m 3 /s. The loads of most pesticides, anti-infectives, and PAHs were higher in the wet season compared to the dry season, which was attributed to the increased agricultural application of chemicals in the summer, an elevated water discharge through the sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) as a result of high hydraulic loads and the related lower treatment efficiency, and seasonally increased deposition from the atmosphere and runoff from the catchment. The estimated annual load of PAHs in the river accounted for some 4% of the total emission of PAHs in the whole Yangtze Basin. Furthermore, by using sucralose as a tracer for domestic wastewater, we estimate a daily disposal of approximately 47 million m 3 of sewage into the river, corresponding to 1.8% of its average hydraulic load. In summary, the annual amounts flushed by the Yangtze River into the East China Sea were 2.9 × 10 6 tons of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC), 369 tons of PAHs, 98 tons of pesticides, 152 tons of pharmaceuticals, and 273 tons of household and industrial chemicals. While the concentrations seem comparably moderate, the pollutant loads are considerable and pose an increasing burden to the health of the marine coastal ecosystem.

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Section: Organic Carbon In Water and Suspended Particlessupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic micropollutants in the Yangtze River: Seasonal occurrence and annual loads

Müller

Pernet-Coudrier

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

Self Cite

107

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“…In the last decades, pollutant discharge into Chinese rivers has increased because of growing industrial development and the widespread application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in agriculture (Müller et al 2008). Additionally, changes in water quantity, water quality, and the aquatic ecosystems have to be expected from large dam constructions, e.g., the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) at the Yangtze.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dechlorination and organohalide-respiring bacteria dynamics in sediment samples of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir

Kranzioch

Stoll

Holbach

et al. 2013

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Several groups of bacteria such as Dehalococcoides spp., Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfuromonas spp., or Desulfitobacterium spp. are able to dehalogenate chlorinated pollutants such as chloroethenes, chlorobenzenes, or polychlorinated biphenyls under anaerobic conditions. In order to assess the dechlorination potential in Yangtze sediment samples, the presence and activity of the reductively dechlorinating bacteria were studied in anaerobic batch tests. Eighteen sediment samples were taken in the Three Gorges Reservoir catchment area of the Yangtze River, including the tributaries Jialing River, Daning River, and Xiangxi River. Polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated the presence of dechlorinating bacteria in most samples, with varying dechlorinating microbial community compositions at different sampling locations. Subsequently, anaerobic reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) was tested after the addition of electron donors. Most cultures dechlorinated PCE completely to ethene via cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) or trans-dichloroethene. Dehalogenating activity corresponded to increasing numbers of Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfitobacterium spp., or Dehalococcoides spp. If no bacteria of the genus Dehalococcoides spp. were present in the sediment, reductive dechlorination stopped at cis-DCE. Our results demonstrate the presence of viable dechlorinating bacteria in Yangtze samples, indicating their relevance for pollutant turnover. Responsible editor: Robert DuranElectronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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“…& Eutrophication by wastewater and agrochemicals, which may lead to algae blooming and water hyacinth growth & Re-solution of pollutants from flooded urban, industrial and agricultural areas & Sediment accumulation along the reservoir and especially in front of the dam & Possibly unknown contamination of toxic inorganic and organic trace compounds from industry, municipal wastewater discharge, landfill deposits, and waste (Müller et al 2008) 3 The Yangtze-Hydro Consortium and the aims of the joint research…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Yangtze-Hydro Project: a Chinese–German environmental program

Bergmann

Chen

et al. 2011

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Water of good quality is one of the basic needs of human life. Worldwide, great efforts are being undertaken for an assured water supply. In this respect, one of the largest water technology projects worldwide is the Yangtze Three Gorges Dam in China. There is a need for extensive scientific and technical understanding of the challenges arising from this large hydrological engineering project. German and Chinese groups from various scientific fields are collaborating to provide knowledge for the sustainable management of the reservoir. In this project description, the Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Project, its goals and challenges, are described in brief, and the contributions of the German research projects are presented.

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How polluted is the Yangtze river? Water quality downstream from the Three Gorges Dam

Cited by 280 publications

References 47 publications

Organic micropollutants in the Yangtze River: Seasonal occurrence and annual loads

Organic micropollutants in the Yangtze River: Seasonal occurrence and annual loads

Dechlorination and organohalide-respiring bacteria dynamics in sediment samples of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir

The Yangtze-Hydro Project: a Chinese–German environmental program

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