Scenario analysis of water pollution control in the typical peri-urban river using a coupled hydrodynamic-water quality model

Abstract

The water quality pollution and ecological deterioration in peri-urban rivers are usually serious under rapid urbanization and economic growth. In the study, a typical peri-urban river, Nansha River, was selected as a case study to discuss the scheme of peri-urban river rehabilitation. Located in the north part of the Beijing central region, the Nansha River watershed has been designated as an ecologically friendly garden-style area with high-tech industry parks and upscale residential zones. However, the Nansha River is currently seriously contaminated by urban and rural pollutants from both nonpoint sources (NPS) and point sources (PS). In this study, the pollutant loads from point sources and nonpoint sources in the Nansha River watershed were first assessed. A coupled model, derived from the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code and Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program, was developed to simulate the hydrodynamics and water quality in the Nansha River. According to the characteristics of the typical peri-urban river, three different PS and NPS control scenarios were designed and examined by modeling analyses. Based on the results of the scenario analysis, a river rehabilitation scheme was recommended for implementation.

Keywords

peri-urban river / coupled hydrodynamic-water quality modeling / scenario analysis / river rehabilitation

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Shaw L. Yu of the University of Virginia for his assistance in the preparation of the present paper. He provided useful comments and revisions. We also thank Dr. Mark B. Bain, Associate Professor of Systems Ecology in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University, for his assistance in English improvement of the paper. Funding for the study was provided by the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (the 111 Project) (B07002) and the mega-projects for science research for water environment improvement (No. 2009ZX07526-005-04).

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg