Technical Notes

WATER POLLUTION IN THE RIVER MOUTHS AROUND BOHAI BAY

Cheng LIU1, Zhao-Yin WANG1,2 and Yun HE3

ABSTRACT
Twelve water samples were collected and analyzed. The samples were taken from the river
mouths around Bohai Bay including the Jiyun, New Yongding, Haihe, Dagu, Duliujian,
Qingjinghuang, Qikou, Dakou, and Yellow Rivers, and tested for concentrations of heavy metals,
arsenic, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). The results show that the river mouths are
polluted and the water quality exceeds Class V of the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface
Water (EQSSW). The main pollutants are Hg, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The concentrations
of the other pollutants are within Class II of the Standard. The Hg content in the Haihe River mouth
is now 10 times higher than it was 20 years ago, indicating that the accelerating water pollution has
reached an alarming level. The high concentrations of N and P cause eutrophication of the waters.
Analysis indicates that the terrestrial pollutants and nutrients are the main cause of frequently
occurring red tides in the Bohai Sea.
Key Words: River mouth, Water quality, Pollution, Red tide, Bohai Bay

1 INTRODUCTION
Bohai Bay is in the northwest part of the Bohai Sea. Many large cities and industrial hubs are located
around the bay, including Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Cangzhou, Huanghua, Binzhou and Dongying. The
area has experienced quick economic development and urbanization and has become one of Chinas
political, economic and cultural centers. The rapid development and corresponding human activities have
had severe influences on the water environment. Recent investigations show that a large part of the
coastal waters of Bohai Bay have been polluted with concentrations of pollutants exceeding Class III of
the Sea Water Quality Standard (GB 3097-1997) of China (Zhao et al., 2000). The pollution has
deteriorated the ecology and reduced biodiversity of the waters. From 1983 to 1993, the number of fish
species decreased from 85 to 74 in the estuary (Qi et al., 2000). The pollutants mainly originate inland,
and are transported by the rivers flowing into the bay. These account for 87% of the total pollutants in the
bay. Forty rivers carry 95% of the terrestrial-source pollutants and nutrients into the Bohai Bay (Zhao et
al., 2000). This paper reports a recent field investigation of the bay and the results of analysis of the
samples taken from the river mouths around the bay.
2 WATER QUALITY IN THE RIVER MOUTHS AROUND BOHAI BAY
During June 6 to 10, 2001, the authors conducted a field investigation at the mouths of the New
Yongding, Jiyun, Haihe, Dagu, Duliujian, Qingjinghuang, New Ziya, Nanpai, Dakou, New Zhangwei,
Majia, Tuhai and Yellow Rivers. These are the most important rivers flowing into the Bohai Bay. Twelve
water samples and 24 sediment samples at 19 river mouths were taken (Fig. 1). The water samples were
analyzed for concentrations of Hg, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) (Liu et
al., 2002; Liu et al., 2003).

Dr., Asso. Prof., International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, Beijing 100044,
China, E-mail: chliu@iwhr.com
2
Prof., Dept. of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University & International Research and Training Center on
Erosion and Sedimentation, Beijing, 100084, China, E-mail: zywang@tsinghua.edu.cn
3
China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100084, China,
E-mail: he_yun@mail.hf.ah.cn
Note: The manuscript of this paper was received in June 2002. The revised version was received in Nov. 2002.
Discussion open until Dec. 2004
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Sampling Sites
New Yongding
River
Jiyun River

13

Qikou Port

14

Nanpai River

15

Huanghua Harbour

16

Dakou River

17

New Zhangwei River

18

Majia River

19

Tuhai River

New Yongding
Port
Haihe River
mouth groyne
Dredged sediment
of Haihe
Tianjin Freight
Harbour
Haihe River
mouth
Dagu River

20

Diaokou River

Duliujian River

21

Dongying Harbour

10

Dredged sediment
of Duliujian
Qingjinghuang
River
New Ziya River

22

Gudong groyne

23

Qingshuigou-Chahe
River (Yellow River)
Qingshuigou River
(Yellow River)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

11
12

24

Fig. 1 Map of Bohai Bay and surrounding area

2.1 Water Quality and the Main Pollutants

The water quality was evaluated by employing Chinas Environmental Quality Standard for Surface
Water (GHZB 1-1999) (EQSSW). Table 1 lists the classes of water quality at the sampling sites. All the
river mouths were seriously polluted: the water qualities at 8 of the 12 sampling sites exceeded Class V,
and the main pollutants were P and Hg. A comparison of the pollutants found in the water samples with
the eutrophication index showed that the N content at these river mouths was also very high. The main
pollutants in the river mouths between Jiyun to Qikou Port were N and P, and those near the Yellow River
mouth were N and Hg.
Table 1 Classes of water quality and the main pollutants in the waters of the sampling sites
Sampling site

Class of water quality

Main pollutants

Jiyun River

Over V

Hg, P, N

New Yongding River

Over V

P, N

Groyne of Haihe River mouth

Over V

Hg, P, N

IV

Hg, P, N

Dagu River

Over V

Hg, P, N

Duliujian River

Over V

Hg, P, N

II

Over V

Hg, P, N

II

Dongying Harbour

Over V

Hg, N

Gudong Groyne

Over V

Hg, N

IV

Hg, N

Freight harbour of Haihe River mouth

Qingjinghuang River
Qikou Port
Dakou River

Qingshuigou Cha-he of the Yellow River

Mercury (Hg): Fig. 2 presents the Hg content in the 12 waters around the Bohai Bay. Higher values
appear near the Haihe and the Yellow River mouths. The Hg content in the waters at Dongying Harbour
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and Gudong Groyne was as high as 2.59 g/L and 1.71 g/L respectively, much higher than 1.0 g/L,
which is Class V of the EQSSW. The Hg content between the Haihe and Duliujian river mouths ranged
form 0.71 to 1.13 g/L, which shows relatively higher values. Compared with the data of the 1980s (EPA
of China, 1990A; EPA of China, 1990B), the Hg content in the waters near the Haihe river mouth is now
roughly 10 times that of 20 years ago. This reflects that the accelerating water pollution, which is caused
by the increasing wastewater discharges of metallurgy, chemical and other industries in Tianjin and the
upstream drainage area, has reached an alarming level. The Hg content in the Yellow River mouth is low
and has remained nearly unchanged compared with that of the 1980s, but the waters at Dongying Harbour
and Gudong Groyne show significant increases in Hg concentration. This indicates that the wastewater
directly discharged by the oil and petrochemicals industries in the Yellow River Delta has caused serious
regional pollution, and that the fearful Hg pollution near the Yellow River mouth is not caused by the
Yellow River itself.
3

Sampling sites
1. Jiyun river
2. New Yongding port
3. Haihe groyne
4. Haihe harbour
5. Dagu river
6. Duliujian river
7. Qingjinghuang river
8. Qikou fishery port
9. Dakou rRiver
10. Dongying harbour
11. Gudong Groyne
12. Qingshuigou-Chahe

Hg content (mg/L)

2.5

Class IV and V of EQSSW

2
1.5
1
0.5
0

No. 1

10

11

12

Sampling site

Fig. 2

Hg Concentration in the waters at river mouths around Bohai Bay

TP
Population density
Average TP

TP content (mg/L)

0.6
0.5
Class IV and V of EQSSW

0.4

800
600

0.3

400

0.2
200

0.1
0

0
No. 1

10

11

Population density (person/km2)

1000

0.7

Sampling sites
1. Jiyun river
2. New Yongding port
3. Haihe groyne
4. Haihe harbour
5. Dagu river
6. Duliujian river
7. Qingjinghuang river
8. Qikou fishery port
9. Dakou river
10. Dongying harbour
11. Gudong groyne
12. Qingshuigou-Chahe

12

Sampling site

Fig. 3 TP Concentration in the waters at river mouths around Bohai Bay

Total Phosphorus (TP): The TP Content in the waters decreases from north to south along the bay
(Fig. 3). Between the Jiyun River to Qikou Port, the TP content ranged from 0.10 to 0.66 mg/L, and all
the values except that of the Qingjinghuang River and Tianjin Freight Harbour exceeded 0.20 mg/L, a
Class V value of TP according to the EQSSW. The contents between Huanghua Harbour to the Yellow
River mouth were between 0.02 and 0.05 mg/L, which falls within the Class II category of the EQSSW.
Phosphorus is one of the elements necessary for biological growth, but when the phosphorus content in
waters is high, alga overgrowth may occur, even to the point of causing eutrophication (EPA of China,
1997). Wang et al. (2001) concluded that 90% of phosphorus entering the waters is related to human
activity. Domestic sewage discharge, the quantity of synthetic detergent usage and industrial capacity all
increase with increased population density, so the phosphorus discharge also increases with increased
population density. If the TP content is averaged in three sections, Tianjin (the Jiyun to Dagu rivers),
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Cangzhou (the Duliujian to Dakou rivers) and Dongying (Dongying Harbour to the Yellow river mouth),
the averaged TP content in the three sections decreases in three steps from north to south. Comparing the
average population density for the same three sections, the same steps can be found. The results of field
measurements further prove Wang et al.s viewpoint.
Total Nitrogen (TN): The TN content in 12 water samples ranged between 1.67 and 5.67 mg/L, which
shows only slight variation (Fig. 4). The relatively higher values appear near the Haihe and the Yellow
River mouths. The TN content is one of the import indexes used to evaluate water quality. High TN
content in the waters of a bay or lake may cause a red tide or alga bloom. In China, half of the nitrogen
discharged to the sea comes from agriculture and the other half comes from industry and domestic sewage
(Wang et al., 2001). Owing to this proportion, the water in every river mouth has roughly the same TN
content. Near the Haihe and Yellow River mouths, the TN content is relatively higher. This is because
there is more domestic sewage and the chemical industry is more concentrated in the Tianjin and
Dongying areas.
Sampling sites
1. Jiyun river
2. New Yongding port
3. Haihe groyne
4. Haihe harbour
5. Dagu river
6. Duliujian river
7. Qingjinghuang river
8. Qikou Fishery port
9. Dakou river
10. Dongying harbour
11. Gudong groyne
12. Qingshuigou-Chahe

6
Class V of the standard of the specific items
for eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs

TN content (mg/L)

5
4
3
2
1
0
No. 1

10

11

12

Sampling site

Fig. 4 TN Content in the waters at river mouths around Bohai Bay

Other Pollutants: Figures 5 and 6 show the concentration of copper, zinc, arsenic and lead in the 12
water samples. The concentrations of these metals in all of the waters were below the Class II of the
EQSSW. The concentrations of Cu, Zn and As were between 0.056 and 0.119 mg/L, 0.067 and 0.118
mg/L, and 1.31 and 4.22 g/L respectively, and the concentrations presented little variation along the bay.
The contents of Pb were between 0.73 and 16.74 g/L, among which the contents at the Haihe River
mouths, the Qikou fishery port and Dongying Harbour were evidently higher than that in other waters.
The high values were presumably caused by oil leakage from ships at ports and in harbours. Compared
with the data from 1980s (EPA of China, 1990A; EPA of China, 1990B), the concentration and
distribution area of the Cu, Zn, As and Pb in the waters along the bay have remained roughly the same,
indicating that the water pollution control measures implemented by the governments of Tianjin and other
cities have controlled most of the heavy metals and arsenic pollution in the Bohai Bay.

Concen. of Cu & Zn (mg/L)

0.14
Cu mg/L
Zn mg/L

Class I of the EQSSW for Zn

0.12

Class I of the EQSSW for Cu

0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
No. 1

6
7
Sampling site

10

11

Sampling sites
1. Jiyun river
2. New Yongding port
3. Haihe groyne
4. Haihe harbour
5. Dagu river
6. Duliujian river
7. Qingjinghuang river
8. Qikou fishery port
9. Dakou river
10. Dongying harbour
11. Gudong groyne
12. Qingshuigou-Chahe

12

Fig. 5 Cu and Zn Concentrations in the waters at river mouths around Bohai Bay
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Concen. of As & Pb(mg/L)

18
As
Pb

Class I of the EQSSW for As-50mg/L

16
14

Class I of the EQSSW for Pb

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
No. 1

6
7
Sampling site

10

11

Sampling sites
1. Jiyun river
2. New Yongding port
3. Haihe groyne
4. Haihe harbour
5. Dagu river
6. Duliujian river
7. Qingjinghuang river
8. Qikou fishery port
9. Dakou river
10. Dongying harbour
11. Gudong groyne
12. Qingshuigou-Chahe

12

Fig. 6 As and Pb Concentrations in the waters at river mouths around Bohai Bay

2.2 Contribution of river mouth pollution to the eutrophication of Bohai Bay

Of the four sea areas in China, the Bohai Sea, the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Yellow
Sea, the Bohai Sea has the smallest number of red tide occurrences recorded, with only 5 from 1933 to
1989, which is 2% of the total number of red tides recorded in China. But the number of red tides has
been increasing since the 1990s (Zhang, 1994). During the period from 1998 to 2000, unusual red tides
with influence areas of thousands of square kilometer have appeared in the Bohai Sea twice (Liang et al.,
2000, Zhou et al., 2001). Eutrophication is the foundation for red tide occurring in seas. It happens when
the nutrients (N, P) input is larger than output, or nutrients (N, P) accumulation is larger than
consumption. Red tides may occur when nutrients are enriched in waters (Fang et al., 2001), so it is very
important to study the sources of the nutrients in the Bohai Bay.
Table 2 Degrees of eutrophication in the river mouths around Bohai Bay

Sampling site

TN

TP

Class of water

Class of water

Degree of

content

content

quality according

quality according

eutrophication

(mg/L)

(mg/L)

to TN

to TP

(%)*

Jiyun River

3.25

0.66

Over V

Over V

85

New Yongding River

3.90

0.30

Over V

Over V

86

Haihe Groyne

5.67

0.21

Over V

Over V

87

Haihe Freight Harbour

1.93

0.13

Over V

Over V

77

Dagu River

1.67

0.23

Over V

Over V

75

Duliujian River

2.50

0.25

Over V

Over V

81

Qingjinghuang River

1.68

0.10

Over V

75

Qikou Port

2.33

0.28

Over V

Over V

80

Dakou River

2.53

0.05

Over V

IV

81

Dongying Harbour

2.94

0.03

Over V

IV

83

Gudong Groyne

5.53

0.02

Over V

III

87

Qingshuigou Cha-he

1.93

0.05

Over V

IV

77

* Based on the evaluation standard for eutrophication by the National Research Institute of Disaster in Japan

No general standard or method to evaluate the degree of eutrophication has been established. Much
research has reported that the concentration of N and P in waters is closely related to eutrophication. In
general, it is believed that waters are in a state of eutrophication when the concentrations of inorganic
nitrogen and total phosphorus reach 0.3mg/L and 0.02mg/L respectively (Tian et al., 1998). Comparing
the TP concentrations found in the waters at the river mouths along the Bohai Bay with these values, all
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the river mouths are in a state of eutrophication. The EQSSW has standards for the specific items
involved in the eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs, and the results of a comparison with these
standards are listed in Table 2, which shows that the TN contents of 12 water samples all exceed Class V
(1.2 mg/L), and the TP contents all reach or exceed Class V (0.12 mg/L) except the water samples taken
at the river mouths from the Dakou to the Yellow rivers. The TN and TP content in the waters of the
Bohai Bay have reached dangerous loads for eutrophication.
The National Research Institute of Disaster in Japan put forward a method to evaluate the degree of
eutrophication, in which the degree of eutrophication is determined by a percentage based on the 9 values
of components such as TN, TP, chlorophyll, transparency and oxygen demand (Jin et al., 1989). The
eutrophication percentages for the twelve samples were determined applying only the TN and TP contents
to this method, and are also listed in the Table 2. The values were between 75 and 93% which indicates
that a serious eutrophication problem exists in these waters.
Identical conclusions were reached using different evaluation methods: that the waters of the river
mouths around the Bohai Bay are all in a state of serious eutrophication, and the terrestrial pollution in
the bay is one of the main reasons for the increasing eutrophication and occurrence of red tide events in
the bay.

0.08

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

0.07
0.06
0.05
0.04

TP content in sediment
TP content in water

0.03
No. 1

5
6
Sampling site

TP content in water (mg/L)

TP content in sediment (%)

3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER QUALITY AND SEDIMENT QUALITY

Most pollutants have similar distribution in the water and sediment along the bay; Hg, Zn and TP have
the most similar distributions in water and sediment. Fig.7 shows this similarity of TP. The similarity of
distribution means that the pollutants are transferred between the sediment and overlaying water which
are in a state of dynamic balance. Affected by the tidal flow, the bed sediment and suspended sediment in
the river mouths are constantly being exchanged, i.e. the suspended sediment in the water is continuously
falling to the river bed to become part of the bed load while the bed sediment erodes and becomes
suspended sediment simultaneously. In this process, the suspended sediment may absorb the pollutants in
the water and deposit them on the bottom, and the bed sediment may release the pollutants from the
bottom during resuspension by the tide and waves.

Sampling sites
1. Jiyun
2. New Yongding
3. Haihe
4. Dagu
5. Duliujian
6. Qingjinghuang
7. Qikou port
8. Dakou
9. Qingshuigou-Chahe

Fig. 7 Distributions of TP content in the water and sediment at the river mouths

4 CONCLUSIONS
The water samples were taken from 12 river mouths around Bohai Bay including the Jiyun, New
Yongding, Haihe, Dagu, Duliujian, Qingjinghuang, Qikou, Dakou and the Yellow Rivers in June 2001.
The concentrations of mercury, copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)
are analyzed. The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) All of the river mouths are seriously polluted,
and the degree of pollution in the waters exceeds Class V of the Environmental Quality Standard for
Surface Water (GHZB 1-1999). The main pollutants are N, P and Hg. The most serious water pollution by
Hg appeared in the waters near the Yellow and Haihe River mouths. The TP content decreases from the
north to the south along the bay which coincides with the downtrend of the population density. (2) A
comparison of the current data with data from the 1980s shows that the concentration of Hg in the waters
of the Haihe River mouth is 10 times that of 20 years ago. Though the concentration of Hg in the waters
at the Yellow River mouth has remained nearly unchanged for the same 20 years, local Hg pollution in the
International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2003, pp. 326-332

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sea area near the mouth has become very serious. (3) The TN and TP content of all 12 water samples has
reached a dangerous amount of eutrophication load; it is obvious that the terrestrial pollution flowing into
the bay is one of the main sources for the increasing eutrophication and the increasing occurrence of red
tide events in the bay. (4) A similar distribution concentration for most of the pollutants were found
between the sediment and waters along the bay, indicating the pollutants are transferred between the
sediment and overlaying water which are in a state of dynamic balance.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Hong
Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) (No. 50379056, No. 50318003).
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