Abstract
Spatial and temporal variations of eight selected water quality measurements were examined for the 26 stations located in the Han River and its tributaries within the city of Seoul from 1993 to 2002. The eight measurements are water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solid, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. There is no discernable increase or decrease in water quality measurements in four representative stations. A striking longitudinal variation of all water quality measurements is detected for eight stations along the Han River. Water quality dramatically decline in the middle section of the Han River where the river receives inputs from polluted tributaries. All water quality measurements, except pH, exhibit better conditions in the main river group than its counterpart tributary group. The 26 stations can be grouped into three main clusters; (1) the main river and its tributaries that have relatively good water quality, (2) the tributaries that have medium water quality, and (3) the tributaries nearby industrial sites that are heavily polluted.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alberto, W. D., Fabiana, P. S., Cecilia, H. A., De los Angeles, B. M., Del Pilar, D. M. and Valeria, A. M. L.: 2001, ‘Pattern recognition techniques for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variations in water quality. A case study: Suquia River Basin (Cordoba-Argentina)’, Water Res. 12, 2881–2894.
Boyer, J.N., Fourqurean, J. W. and Jones, R. D.: 1997, ‘Spatial characterization of water quality in Florida Bay and Whitewater Bay by multivariate analyses: Zones of similar influence’, Estuaries 20, 743–758.
Brodnjak-Voncina, D., Dobcnik, D., Novic, M. and Zupan, J.: 2002, ‘Chemometrics characterisation of the quality of river water’, Anal. Chim. Acta. 462, 87–100.
Chen, J., He, D., Zhang, N. and Cui, S.: 2004, ‘Characteristics of human influences on nitrogen contamination in Yellow river system, China’, Environ. Monit. Assess. 93, 125–138.
Choi, E., Kim, G., Yoon, J.: 1994, ‘An approach for the estimation of NPS pollutant discharge’, J. Kor. Assoc. Water Qual. 10, 189–194.
Davie, T.: 2003, Fundamentals of Hydrology, Routledge, New York, 169 pp.
Eaton, A. D., Clesceri, L. S. and Greenberg, A. E.: (eds) 1994, Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 18th edn. Washington DC: American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation.
Ha, S.-R. and Bae, M.-S.: 2001, ‘Effects of land use and municipal wastewater treatment changes on stream water quality’, Environ. Monit. Assess. 70, 135–151.
Han, K. Y., Song, J. W., Kim, S. H. and Baek, K. W.: 1995, ‘T-N and T-P simulations in the downstream of the Han river’, J. Kor. Water Resourc. Assoc. 28, 137–146 (in Korean).
Hirsh, R. M. and Slack, J. R.: 1984, ‘A non-parametric test for seasonal data with serial dependence’, Water Resour. Res. 29, 727–732.
Ismail, S. S. and Ramadan, A.: 1995, ‘Characterisation of nile and drinking water quality by chemical and cluster analysis’, Sci. Total. Environ. 173, 69–81.
Jenerette, G. D., Lee, J., Waller, D. W. and Carlson, R. E.: 2002, ‘Multivariate analysis of the ecoregion delineation for aquatic systems’, Environ. Manage. 29, 67–75.
Kim, L.-H., Choi, E. and Stenstrom, M. K.: 2003, ‘Sediment characteristics, phosphorus types and phosphorus release rates between river and lake sediments’, Chemosphere 50, 53– 61.
Kim, L.-H. and Choi, E.: 1996, ‘Phosphorus release from sediment with environmental changes in Han river’, in Proceedings of the 4th Conference of Korean Association of Water Quality, Pusan, Korea.
Kim, H. I., Lee, J. S., Heo, J. H. and Cho, W. C.: 1998, ‘A study on the contaminant transport characteristics in the Han river’, J. Kor. Water Resour. Assoc. 31, 85–93 (in Korean).
Krenkel, P. A. and Novotny, V.: 1980, Water Quality Management, Academic Press, New York.
Lee, H. K.: 1982, ‘Stochastic properties of water quality variations in downstream part of the Han river’, J. Kor. Hydrol. Soc. 15, 23–35 (in Korean).
Meybeck, M.: 1998, ‘Man and river interface: Multiple impacts on water and particulates chemistry illustrated in the Seine river basin’, Hydrobiologia 374, 1–20.
Ministry of Construction and Transportation, Republic of Korea: 2004, Annual Discharge Report in Korea available at (http://www.hrfco.go.kr/YearCD/2000/Dishcharge/HTML/main.htm.
Ministry of Environment Republic of Korea: 2002, ‘Water environment of Seoul’, in The Status of the Environment in the City of Seoul, Seoul, Korea.
Ministry of Environment: 2004, ‘Water environment information system: Environmental standard for stream water quality’, available at http://water.nier.go.kr/ accessed on March 29, 2004.
Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea: 1975, Studies on Water Pollution of the Han River, Seoul, Korea.
Moon, T.-H.: 1998, ‘Environmental problems of Seoul metropolitan and recommendations for future policy directions’, A Conference on Contemporary National and Regional Policy Issues in Korea, Institute of Regional Economics Remin University, Beijing China, June 29, 1998. Available at http://naeri.cc2.cau.ac.kr/~thmoon/paper/seoul1.htm (accessed on August 20, 2003).
Novotny, V. 2002: Water Quality: Diffusion Pollution and Watershed Management, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Redfield, A. C., Ketchum, B. H. and Richards, F. A.: 1963, The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater, in M. N. Hill (ed.), The Sea, Vol. 2. Interscience Publishers, Wiley, New York, pp. 26–77.
Rogerson, P. A.: 2001, Statistical Methods for Geography, Sage Publications, London.
Seoul Development Institute: 2000, Thematic Maps of Seoul, Seoul Development Institute, Seoul, Korea.
Seoul Metropolitan Government: 2003, ‘Water Quality’ http://english.metro.seoul.kr/abo-ut/cityfacts/environment.cfm (accessed on August 18, 2003).
Watelet, A. and Johnson, P. G.: 1999, ‘Hydrology and water quality of the Raisin river: Overview of impacts of recent land and channel changes in Eastern Ontario’, Water Qual. Res. J. Can. 34, 361–390.
Webb, B. W.: 1992, Climate Change and the Thermal Regime of Rivers (Report to the Department of Environment): University of Exter, Department of Geography.
Yeung, I. M. H.: 1999, ‘Multivariate analysis of the Hong Kong Victoria harbour water quality data’, Environ. Monit. Assess. 593, 331–342.
Yung, Y. K., Wong, C. K., Yau, K. and Qian, P. Y.: 2001, ‘Long-term changes in water quality and phytoplankton characteristics in Port Shelter, Hong Kong, From 1988–1998’, Marine Pollu. Bulletin 42, 981–992.
Zou, S. and Whittemore, D.: 1993, ‘Identification of surface water-quality patterns of the Arkansas river basin’, J. Environ. Sci. Health Part A, 28, 2005–2027.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chang, H. Spatial and Temporal Variations of Water Quality in the Han River and Its Tributaries, Seoul, Korea, 1993–2002. Water Air Soil Pollut 161, 267–284 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-005-4286-7
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-005-4286-7