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Calculation of permissible load capacity and establishment of total amount control in the Wujin River Catchment—a tributary of Taihu Lake, China

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Abstract

The deterioration of water quality in Taihu Lake, China, has caused widespread concern in recent years. The primary pollution sources of Taihu Lake are its inflow rivers. Effective environmental water management strategies need to be implemented in these rivers to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake and to promote sustainable development in the region. In this study, the QUAL2K model is used in conjunction with the trial and error approach to assess permissible load capacities for the Wujin River (a major tributary of Taihu Lake) in terms of COD, NH3-N, TN, and TP. Results show that permissible annual loads for these pollutants are 5216.31, 491.71, 948.53, and 104.38 t, respectively. This suggests that COD, NH3-N, TN, and TP loads in the Wujin River catchment need to be reduced by 13.35, 27.26, 47.75, and 37.08 %, respectively, to satisfy national water quality objectives. Total amount control measures are proposed to control and reduce pollution loads of the Wujin River catchment. The method applied in this study should provide a sound basis for water environmental management decision-making.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20140603), the State Water Pollution Control and Treatment Technique Program of China (Grant Nos. 2012ZX07101006-05 and 2013ZX07101014-05), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 20620140486).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China

    Ruibin Zhang, Hailong Gao, Wenting Zhu, Wei Hu & Rui Ye

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  1. Ruibin Zhang
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  2. Hailong Gao
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  3. Wenting Zhu
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  4. Wei Hu
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  5. Rui Ye
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Correspondence to Ruibin Zhang.

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Zhang, R., Gao, H., Zhu, W. et al. Calculation of permissible load capacity and establishment of total amount control in the Wujin River Catchment—a tributary of Taihu Lake, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 11493–11503 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4311-3

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