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Impact of anthropogenic activities on urban stream water quality: a case study in Guangzhou, China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 21, pages 13412–13419 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are increasingly impacting the quality of urban surface water, particularly in regions undergoing intensive urbanization, such as Guangzhou of South China with a large urban stream network. To examine such impacts, we conducted field sampling on December 24, 2010, May 24, 2011, and August 28, 2011, representative of the low-, normal-, and high-flow periods, respectively. The first sampling was timed immediately after the closing of the 16th Asian Games (November 12–27, 2010) and the 10th Asian Para Games (December 12–19, 2010) held in Guangzhou. Assessments based on a pollution index method showed that the urban streams under investigation were extremely polluted, with direct discharge of untreated domestic sewage identified as the main pollution contributor. In addition, stream water quality around urban villages with high population densities was worse than that within business districts away from the urban villages. Pollution control measures implemented in preparation for the Asian Games were effective for urban streams within the business districts, but less effective for those adjacent to the urban villages. However, short-term efforts may not be able to achieve sustainable urban water quality improvements. In the case of Guangzhou, minimizing or even eliminating direct point-source inputs to the urban streams is perhaps the best option.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Science and Information Technology Bureau of Guangzhou (No. 2010GN-H00081), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2012ZX07503-003-002), and Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIGCAS 135 project Y234081001). We greatly thank Yong-Qiang Yang, Shi-Jun Wu, Zhu-Li Liu, He-Fa Cheng, and Xue-Ping Liu for laboratory supports, and Pei-Tong Ni for technical inputs. This is contribution No. IS-XXXX from GIGCAS.

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Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Jin-Song Liu, Ling-Chuan Guo, Fan-Rong Chen & Eddy Y. Zeng

  2. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Xian-Lin Luo

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jin-Song Liu & Ling-Chuan Guo

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  1. Jin-Song Liu
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  2. Ling-Chuan Guo
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  3. Xian-Lin Luo
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  4. Fan-Rong Chen
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  5. Eddy Y. Zeng
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Correspondence to Eddy Y. Zeng.

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Responsible editor: Céline Guéguen

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Liu, JS., Guo, LC., Luo, XL. et al. Impact of anthropogenic activities on urban stream water quality: a case study in Guangzhou, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 13412–13419 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3237-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3237-5

Keywords

  • Water quality
  • Urban stream
  • Urban village
  • Anthropogenic activity
  • Asian Games
  • Guangzhou