Water quality assessment by pollution-index method in the coastal waters of Hebei Province in western Bohai Sea, China

Sources of pollution discharges and water quality samples at 27 stations in 2006 in the coastal waters of Hebei Province, western Bohai Sea, have been analyzed in this study. Pollutant loads from industrial sewages have shown stronger impact on the water environment than those from the general sewages. Analysis indicates that pollution of COD is mainly resulted from land-based point pollutant sources. For phosphate concentration, non-point source pollution from coastal ocean (fishing and harbor areas) plays an important role. To assess the water quality conditions, Organic Pollution Index and Eutrophication Index have been used to quantify the level of water pollution and eutrophication conditions. Results show that pollution was much heavier in the dry season than flood season in 2006. Based on COD and phosphate concentrations, results show that waters near Shahe River, Douhe River, Yanghe River, and Luanhe River were heavily polluted. Water quality in the Qinhuangdao area was better than those in the Tangshan and Cangzhou areas.