The Synergic Characteristics of Surface Water Pollution and Sediment Pollution with Heavy Metals in the Haihe River Basin, Northern China

Abstract

Aquatic environmental deterioration is becoming a serious problem due to rapid urbanization and economic development, particularly in developing countries. As two important components of the aquatic environment, water quality and sediment pollution are widely considered to be concerns; however, they are considered separately in most cases. The relationship between water quality and sediment pollution with heavy metals has been little addressed. In this study, the Haihe River Basin (HRB), one of the most polluted areas in China, was used as a case study, and the eutrophication index (EI) and the potential ecological risk index (RI) were employed to evaluate water quality and sediment pollution of heavy metals, respectively. The results showed that generally in the HRB, the water quality was poor, while the risk of heavy metal pollution was relatively low. Surface water quality was mainly influenced by sewage discharges from human daily life, and heavy metal pollution was affected by industry structure, in that the areas with resource/energy consumption industries and high-pollution industries often have high risks of heavy metal pollution Synergic pollution from water eutrophication and sediment pollution with heavy metals was found, especially in the central areas of the HRB, and it was largely dependent on the type of human activities. In the places with intensive human activities, such as secondary industry, eutrophication occurred simultaneously with heavy metal pollution, other than in less human-affected areas. These findings are useful for planning aquatic environment protections and river ecosystem management.

Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals In Suspended Particulate Matter In A Typical Urban River of Northern China

“…The average concentration of Zn was 115.70 mg/kg, which is lower than that of Xiaobai River sediment (0.16 mg/kg), and higher than that of Yellow River (81.8 mg/kg) (Li et al 2014). The average concentration of As was 27.77 mg/kg, higher than that of Bortala (9.67 mg/kg) and Haihe Basin (7.56 mg/kg) (Kong et al 2018;Zhang et al 2016b). The average concentration of Cd was 0.23 mg/kg, lower than that of Xiaobai River (0.37 mg/kg), and similar to that of Haihe Basin (0.2 mg/kg) (Kong et al 2018;Li et al 2014).…”

Hydrochemical composition and potentially toxic elements in the Kyrgyzstan portion of the transboundary Chu-Talas river basin, Central Asia

“…The evaluation of irrigation water noted above is based on the composition of major ions, but harmful effects on human health from potentially toxic elements in water are also of great concern. Research studies have shown that in developed countries and regions, potentially toxic elements have already had a significant impact on human health 50 , 51 . There is a particular gap in the study and evaluation of potentially toxic elements in the surface waters of Central Asia.…”

Little Akaki River sediment enrichment with heavy metals, pollution load and potential ecological risks in downstream, Central Ethiopia

“…Enrichment factor is widely applied to quantify the abundance of metals in sediments, the levels of enrichment and to distinguish sources of metals, whether they are derived from an anthropogenic or natural source (Al Obaidy et al 2014;Kong et al 2018;Zhao et al 2017).…”