title: Is urban development an urban river killer? A case study of Yongding Diversion Channel in Beijing, China.
abstract: The high population and concrete environment alter urban areas by changing temperature, rainfall runoff, and water resource utilization activities. This study was conducted to investigate the water quality features of the Yongding Diversion Channel in Beijing, China, and its relationship with rainfall and urban development. Monthly water quality data were obtained from April to October of 2004 at monitoring sites of Sanjiadian, Gaojing, Luodaozhuang, and Yuyuangtan. The monthly water quality grades from 2007 to 2011 were also investigated and compared with those of other rivers. Dissolved oxygen and pH showed greater decreases after one or two moderate rainfall events than several light rainfall events. The potassium permanganate index (CODMn), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total phosphorus (TP) increased more after several light rainfall events than after one or two moderate or heavy rainfall events. Pollutant concentrations (CODMn, NH3-N, TP) in downstream regions showed greater changes than those in upstream areas after heavy rainfall events. Intense human activities around the channel greatly influenced the water quality of the channel in rainy season because of runoff pollution; however, heavy rainfall had a strong dilution effect on the pollutant concentrations in rivers. Overall, urban development has obviously deteriorated the water quality of the Yongding Diversion Channel as indicated by an increase in the water quality index from 3.22 in 2008 to 4.55 in 2010. The Pearson correlation between monthly rainfall and water quality indices from 2007 to 2011 ranged from 0.1286 to 0.6968, generally becoming weaker as rainfall and rainfall runoff became more random and extreme.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: c-wang@163.com.
authors: Xi
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100875, China.
authors: Junqi
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: yingxia@bnu.edu.cn.
authors: Yingxia
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors: Zhenyao
authors: Z
authors: Shen
authors: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors: Xuan
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors: Zhifeng
authors: Z
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
authors: Inchio
authors: I
authors: Lou
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D011891:Rain; D045483:Rivers; D014507:Urbanization; D014876:Water Pollution; D060753:Water Quality
keywords: Yongding Diversion Channel; rainfall; urban development; water quality indices