Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ecological Indicators
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind

Understanding the water quality change of the Yilong Lake based on

comprehensive assessment methods
Tao Wu a, b, c, Shengrui Wang a, b, c, d, *, Baolin Su a, Huaxin Wu a, b, c, Guoqiang Wang a, c
a
Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Water Cycle and Sponge City Technology, Institute of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
b
Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security, Research Center of Water Science, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China
c
Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education on Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing
100875, China
d
Yunnan Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Management of Plateau Lake Watershed, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650034, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: To understand the water quality changes of the Yilong Lake and reveal the driving factors of water quality
Water quality index changes in different periods, in this study, based on 13 water quality parameters, the water quality of Yilong Lake
Water quality assessment from 2008 to 2018 was comprehensively evaluated by water quality health comprehensive assessment method
Water quality parameters
(ETI) and water quality index method (WQI), and 6 key parameters were determined by WQI method to develop
Yilong Lake
a more convenient WQImin comprehensive evaluation model. The results showed that: (1) Yilong Lake’s single-
Comprehensive assessment
factor water quality evaluation result was inferior to category V, CODCr and TN had a greater impact on the water
quality evaluation results; while the ETI and WQI evaluation methods show the water quality of Yilong Lake is at
a moderate level (53.58 ± 7.46 and 0.53 ± 0.13). Among them, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus have
the greatest impact on WQI and ETI values. (2) The comprehensive evaluation method reveals that the water
quality changes of Yilong Lake can be divided into two stages. Among them, the water quality of lakes declined
from 2008 to 2013, and the main driving factors are the increase in industrial sewage discharge and the increase
in pollution load caused by tourism development; and from 2014 to 2018, lake water quality showed an
improving trend, and the spatial change shows that the water quality of the west is slightly better than the middle
and the east, which is mainly due to the increase of the lake’s self-purification ability, the implementation of
various treatment measures, the water supplement project and the location of pollutant discharge; (3) Based on
the WQI method, six key parameters of DO, CODMn, EC, TN, Hg, and Chla were determined and the Yilong Lake
WQImin model was developed. The water quality evaluation results of the WQImin model considering the weight
are more accurate, and the water quality change characteristics of Yilong Lake can be understood simply and
quickly.

1. Introduction Water quality evaluation is a prerequisite for water environmental

governance and management (Saeed and Hashmi, 2014). Single-factor
With economic growth and population increase, a lot of industrial evaluation is a commonly used water quality evaluation method, but
and agricultural wastewater and domestic sewage inflow the lake, it is likely to cause one-sided evaluation results and cannot reflect the
causing the deterioration of lake water quality. In addition, the lake overall status of lake water quality(Noori et al., 2019). The results of
water quality is also affected by climate change and hydrodynamic comprehensive evaluation methods are simple and easy to understand,
conditions (Zamparas and Zacharias, 2014), causing lake water pollu­ although they are more cumbersome than single-factor evaluation
tion control faces many difficulties. Choosing a fast and effective water methods. But it is more conducive for managers to apply in water
quality assessment method can help the management department un­ environment management. In similar studies have used comprehensive
derstand the water environmental quality and determine the key points evaluation methods to evaluate lake water quality as a whole
of pollution control (Liu et al., 2019). (Akkoyunlu and Akiner, 2012; Li et al., 2018; Nong et al., 2020; Tian and

* Corresponding author at: Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Water Cycle and Sponge City Technology, Institute of Water Science, Beijing Normal University,
Beijing 100875, China.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Wang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107714
Received 3 January 2021; Received in revised form 6 April 2021; Accepted 8 April 2021
Available online 19 April 2021
1470-160X/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Wu, 2019; Wang et al., 2019a, 2019b). For example, the comprehensive plateau lakes in Yunnan Province, with an average water surface
evaluation of the water quality of the Haihe River Basin based on the elevation of 1414 m and a maximum water depth of 6.55 m, and the
Water Quality Health Evaluation Method (ETI) is to determine that the average water depth is 2.75 m (Liang et al., 2019). The regional multi-
ETI method can accurately evaluate the lake water quality based on year average air temperature is 18 ◦ C, the multi-year average precipi­
management objectives(Cheng et al., 2018); the water quality index tation is 920 mm, the multi-year average evaporation is 1908 mm, the
method (WQI) is used to evaluate the water quality of the South-north drainage area is 360.4 km2, and the lake area is 31 km2.
Water Diversion Project. This method can comprehensively under­ There are mainly 6 rivers inflowing Yilong Lake, namely Chengbei
stand the water quality changes since the implementation of the project River, Cheng River, Chengnan River, Dashui River, Longgang River and
and evaluate the project water quality as “excellent” from 2016 to 2019 Yucun River. Among them, the amount of water flowing into the lake
(Nong et al., 2020). Some scholars also use WQI method to evaluate the from the Cheng River is relatively large, accounting for about 60% of the
quality of groundwater, and provide scientific suggestions for the total amount of water flowing into the lake. The lake has two outlets,
development, utilization and protection of groundwater(Gorgij et al., located on the south bank and the east bank of the lake. Since 2017,
2019; He et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2020). At present, more than 35 million m3 of clean water has been inflowed the Yilong
more research focuses on the use of WQI method to determine key pa­ Lake each year to improve lake water quality. The concentration of Imn,
rameters to reduce measurement and analysis costs, especially in TN and TP were 0.7–3.6 mg/L, 0.77–1.44 mg/L and lower than 0.05 mg/
developing countries. For example, the WQImin method based on L, respectively, which is better than the water quality in the lake. The
selected key parameters can reduce measurement costs and evaluate supplying water mainly inflow the Yilong Lake through Chenghe
lake water quality more easily. It has been used as a wide range of wetland and Chengnan River, and played a significant role in the
practical tools to evaluate surface water quality (Kannel et al., 2007; improvement of water quality in the west of Yilong Lake.
Pesce and Wunderlin, 2000). However, the calculation results of the
WQImin model show that the determination of parameters and weights
has a greater impact on the evaluation results (Zhao et al., 2013a), so the 2.2. Data collection
determination of model parameters and weights needs to be carefully
considered in combination with specific research backgrounds (Avi­ The water quality and water level data of Yilong Lake are from the
gliano and Schenone, 2016). Honghe Prefecture Environmental Monitoring Station in Shiping
Yilong Lake is one of the nine plateau lakes in Yunnan Province. With County, Yunnan Province. The water quality data includes 13 indicators
the rapid social and economic growth of the basin and the utilization of including DO, CODCr, CODMn, BOD5, EC, TP, TN, NH3-N, S− , Hg, Zn, Cd
water resources, problems such as lake ecosystem damage, water quality and Chla from 2008 to 2018. Data such as the total discharge of in­
decline, and eutrophication have become increasingly obvious (Zhao dustrial wastewater, total domestic wastewater discharge, solid waste
et al., 2013b). Especially after 2009 years, the lake water quality dete­ production and sewage treatment investment are from the “Announce­
riorated sharply, the water level dropped rapidly, and the water quality ment on the State of the Environment of Yunnan Province” (http://sthjt.
indicators such as TN and CODCr exceeded the surface water inferior yn.gov.cn). The rainfall and evaporation data are from the China
grade V standards. How to understand and evaluate the water quality Meteorological Science Data Sharing Service Network (http://www.
change law of Yilong Lake and discover its main driving factors is sig­ escience.gov.cn). Data such as population, GDP and tourism income
nificant to the management and protection of Yilong Lake and Yunnan are from the “Statistical Bulletin of National Economic and Social
Plateau lakes. However, the single-factor evaluation method commonly Development” (http://www.tjcn.org). The water quality data of Poyang
used in China cannot comprehensively evaluate the overall water Lake comes from the Jiangxi Provincial Environmental Monitoring
quality changes of Yilong Lake, the difference in driving factors cannot Center and the Jiangxi Water Resources Department, the water quality
be revealed neither, so it is necessary to choose a suitable comprehensive data of Erhai Lake from the Erhai Lake Protection Administration.
evaluation method to fully understand the water quality of Yilong Lake.
This study intends to use single factor evaluation method and
2.3. Research methods
comprehensive evaluation method to evaluate the spatiotemporal
changes of Yilong Lake water quality, reveal the characteristics of lake
2.3.1. Water quality index
water quality changes, and determine the key parameters of lake water
The comprehensive water quality index evaluation method is an
quality changes through WQI method, and try to develop a simpler
evaluation method with relatively fixed evaluation standards. The
WQImin model to achieve effective management of lake water quality.
scores and index weights are determined based on a lot of previous
The purpose of this study is (1) to compare and analyze the evaluation
studies or the degree of damage of each index to water ecology (Kocer
results of the Yilong Lake water quality by single factor evaluation
and Sevgili, 2014; Pesce and Wunderlin, 2000), each water quality
method and comprehensive water quality evaluation method; (2) to use
parameter and weight are shown in Table 1, and the calculation formula
the comprehensive evaluation method to reveal the differences and
is as follows:
reasons of the driving factors of the water quality changes in the Yilong
∑n
Lake at different period; (3) to determine the key parameters affecting C × Pi
water quality based on the WQI method, and develop a more convenient WQI = i=1 ∑n i (1)
i=1 Pi
and simpler WQImin water quality evaluation model for the Yilong
Lake. To comprehensively analyze the differences of the spatial and where: WQI is the comprehensive water quality index, Ci is the stan­
temporal variation of water quality assessment results in Yilong Lake, dardized score of water quality factor i; Pi is the weight of water quality
and explore the role of different water quality assessment methods in factor i, the minimum value of Pi is 1, the maximum value is 4(Kannel
lake water environment management, so as to provide a scientific basis et al., 2007). According to the WQI score, water quality is divided into 5
for national water environment governance and management levels: excellent [90–100], good [70–90), medium [50–70), poor
assessment. [25–50), very poor [0–25).
To easily evaluate the water quality of Yilong Lake, this study
2. Materials and methods established a WQImin model based on multiple linear stepwise regression
methods to select key parameters. The WQImin model considering the
2.1. Study area and background parameter weight is written as WQImin-w, calculated according to for­
mula (1), and the WQImin model without weight is recorded as WQImin-
Yilong Lake (102◦ 30′ ~102◦ 38′ E, 23◦ 39′ ~23◦ 42′ N) is one of the nine nw, calculated according to formula (2):

2
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Table 1
Assignment and weight of water quality parameters for WQI method.
Parameter Weight Standardized scores and water quality classification

100, I 80, II 60, III 40, IV 20, V 0, worse than V

DO 4 ≥7.5 6–7.5 5–6 3–5 2–3 0–2

CODMn 3 ≤2 2–4 4–6 6–10 10–15 >15
BOD5 3 ≤3 3–3.5 3.5–4 4–6 6–10 >10
CODCr 3 0–15 15–18 18–20 20–30 30–40 >40
EC 1 ≤75 75–150 150–200 200–500 500–800 >800
TN 2 0–0.2 0.2–0.5 0.5–1.0 1.0–1.5 1.5–2.0 >2.0
TP 1 0–0.01 0.01–0.025 0.025–0.05 0.05–0.1 0.1–0.2 >0.2
NH3-N 3 0–0.15 0.15–0.5 0.5–1.0 1.0–1.5 1.5–2.0 >2.0
S 1 ≤0.05 0.05–0.1 0.1–0.2 0.2–0.5 0.5–1.0 >1.0
Hg 1 ≤0.00005 – 0.0001 0.001 – >0.001
Zn 1 ≤0.05 0.05–1.0 – 1.0–2.0 – >2.0
Cd 1 ≤0.001 0.001–0.005 – – 0.005–0.01 >0.01
Chla 3 ≤1 1–10 10–15 15–40 40–50 >50

∑n index groups, and n is the number of index groups. The evaluation re­
WQI min = ( Ci )/n (2) sults are divided into 5 levels: excellent (0.80–1], good (0.60–0.80],
i=1
medium (0.40–0.60], poor (0.20–0.40), very poor (0–0.20].
where n is the total number of water quality indicators; Ci is the stan­
dardized score of water quality factor i. 3. Results

2.3.2. ETI method 3.1. Analysis of water quality change of Yilong Lake based on WQI and
The comprehensive water quality health assessment method (ETI) ETI method
based on expected value and threshold value, which is an evaluation
method that sets the expected value and threshold value based on the 3.1.1. Analysis on interannual variation of Yilong Lake water quality
water quality characteristics. The expected value is the water quality From 2008 to 2018, the WQI value of water quality in Yilong Lake
condition under reference conditions (ideal or natural conditions). decreased first and then increased. The highest and lowest annual WQI
Threshold value refers to the critical value that the water quality is harm values appeared in 2017 and 2012, respectively, and were 71.85 and
to the health of the ecosystem. ETI calculation formula is as follows (Sun 42.96 (Fig. 1). The average WQI in 2009 dropped from 61 to 49, indi­
et al., 2016): cating serious lake water pollution, mainly because the rapid develop­
ment of urbanization, and the release of excessive nitrogen and
∑n
ETI = ( Ci )/n (3) phosphorus in the sediments, leading to the serious over-standard of TN
i=1 and TP and eutrophication (Zhao et al., 2013b). To prevent the
continuous deterioration of the water environment of Yilong Lake, the
In the formula, ETI is the comprehensive evaluation value of water
government implemented engineering measures such as water supple­
quality and health, Ci is the standardized value of the physical and
ment, sediment dredging, and establishment of enclosures. The water
chemical index group, nutrient salt index group and various biological

Fig. 1. Interannual variation of WQI and ETI in Yilong Lake.

3
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

quality of Yilong Lake began to improve in 2014, and its WQI value also water quality and can affect the growth of aquatic organisms and many
increased. complex biochemical processes, so DO is preferentially selected into the
From 2008 to 2018, the ETI value and WQI value of Yilong Lake WQImin model.
water quality showed the same changing trend. The maximum ETI value Hg is introduced as a heavy metal parameter into the WQImin model,
was 0.76 (2008) and the minimum was 0.35 (2010). In 2009, due to the which represents the metal content that affects water quality and may
high concentration of Chla, its ETI value dropped rapidly. Since 2014, have a potential risk to human health. Studies have shown that Hg
due to the implementation of various engineering treatment measures, pollution has become a global environmental problem. Because it is easy
its ETI value has begun to increase too. to transform and bioaccumulate in the food chain (Giri and Singh,
2014). Therefore, the heavy metal index calculated by WQImin is Hg.
3.1.2. Analysis on spatial changes of water quality in Yilong Lake Chla is one of the most important parameters for studying phyto­
It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the water quality in the west of Yilong plankton dynamics, carbon cycle and eutrophication assessment (Huang
Lake is better than the middle and east, and the difference between the et al., 2014; Jackson et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2015), and since the water
middle and east is smaller. The water quality evaluation results of WQI quality parameter characterizing biological indicators in this study is
and ETI are both “medium”. The annual average values of WQI and ETI Chla, the Chla is chosen to represent the biomass indicator of water
in the west, middle, and east are 56.77, 52.39 and 51.58; 0.59, 0.50 and quality. CODMn reflects the degree of organic pollution in the water
0.50, respectively. Great attention should be paid to the water envi­ body. The organic matter in the water body comes from biosynthesis,
ronment management and management in the central and eastern. especially the organic matter produced by photosynthesis of planktonic
Fig. 3. algae, and it is affected by human activities too. The electrical conduc­
The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that the eval­ tivity is the most basic water quality parameter of surface waters. It is an
uation results of ETI and WQI were extremely correlated (R = 0.923, P important measure of water quality and an important parameter for
< 0.005). evaluating the health of the water environment. Electrical conductivity
There are three main reasons for the better water quality in the west is mainly related to the chemical components dissolved in the water and
of Yilong Lake. (1) The effect of the amount of water supplement. A large can indirectly deduce the total concentration of ions in the water, or salt
amount of water inflow the lake from the west, which improves the self- content (Cañedo-Argüelles et al., 2013). The performance of the WQImin
purification capacity; (2) The role of water quality. The supplement model is based on the comprehensive evaluation of R2.
water quality is better than the Yilong Lake, the water inflow the lake
from the west, so the water quality in the west is improved first; (3) 4. Discussion
Emission of pollution sources. Large domestic sewage and industrial
waste water inflow the middle of lake and because of the topography 4.1. Changes in water quality and driving factors of Yilong Lake from
and the water flowing from west to east, the water quality in the west of 2008 to 2018
the lake is better than the middle and the east.
Water quality parameters can reflect the changes of ecological
environment in the lake basin, among them, natural conditions and
3.2. Analysis of water quality change of Yilong Lake based on WQImin
human activities are the major factors affecting water quality parame­
method
ters (Yang et al., 2012). The characteristics of 13 water quality param­
eters of Yilong Lake from 2008 to 2018 are shown in Table 3. From 2008
According to the results of stepwise multiple linear regression
to 2018, the annual average concentration of DO was higher than 6 mg/
(Table 2), TN has a greater contribution to the interpretation of WQI
L. There was no obvious spatial difference in the average concentration
changes, and the average NH3-N concentration is relatively stable, less
of DO measured by each monitoring station from west to east. The
than 10% of the TN content, NH3-N is not the main parameter of WQI
average concentration of CODMn is between 16 mg/L and 20 mg/L
changes, so WQImin only selects TN to represent the key water quality
(inferior to the Class V standard), showing an interannual variation that
parameter of Yilong Lake.
increases first and then decreases, which also shows the spatial change
BOD5 and DO are water quality parameters of particular concern in
of low concentration in the west and high concentration in the middle
previous studies (Jindal and Sharma, 2011; Kannel et al., 2007). The
and east. The annual variation of BOD5 concentration was similar to
WQImin model including DO has better accuracy than the WQImin model
CODMn, and the monitored concentration in 2010 was the highest, from
including BOD5. The higher BOD5 concentration in Yilong Lake indicates
west to east, they were 13.93, 16.22 and 14.49 mg/L, respectively. The
that the lake has serious organic pollution, which is similar as the
concentration of CODCr has always been at a high level (inferior to the
research results of lakes polluted by external sources such as sewage
Class V standard), and the average concentration at the western
discharge. DO is a parameter that reflects the organic pollution status of

Fig. 2. Spatial distribution of WQI and ETI results in Yilong Lake.

4
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Fig. 3. Comparison of the WQI and WQImin values.

concentrations of Hg, Zn, and Cd. The low metal content may be due to
Table 2
the synergistic effect of the mineral composition of rocks and soil near
The parameter selection results of the WQImin models from the stepwise multiple
the lake, as well as the natural process and the self-purification ability of
linear regression.
the water body (Gao et al., 2016). Chla can reflect the phytoplankton
Location Parameter selection WQImin-nw(non- WQImin- biomass and the nutritional status of lakes, and play a key role in the
weighted) w(weighted)
evaluation of eutrophication (Vincon-Leite and Casenave, 2019). The
Models R2 Models R2 average concentration of Chla in the west, middle and east of Yilong
West DO, CODMn, BOD5, CODCr, TN, nw1 0.84 w1 0.89 Lake from 2008 to 2018 was 9.41, 10.51, 11.04 mg/L, and the risk of
TP, Hg, Chla eutrophication should be paid attention to.
DO, BOD5, CODCr, TN, TP, Hg, nw2 0.94 w2 0.96 The single-factor evaluation method can only conclude the water
Chla
DO, CODMn, EC, TN, Hg, Chla nw3 0.91 w3 0.92
quality of Yilong Lake is inferior V. Due to the one-sidedness of the single
Middle DO, CODMn, BOD5, CODCr, TN, nm1 0.985 m1 0.983 index evaluation, observation Table 2 can find that the main water
TP, Hg, Chla quality parameters of Yilong Lake are TN and CODCr, and CODCr is not
DO, BOD5, CODCr, TN, TP, Hg, nm2 0.96 m2 0.95 enough to reflect the pollution status of the lake. Therefore, it is
Chla
impossible to use a single factor to comprehensively and objectively
DO, CODMn, EC, TN, Hg, Chla nm3 0.96 m3 0.95
East DO, CODMn, BOD5, CODCr, TN, ne1 0.987 e1 0.986 understand the water quality change law of Yilong Lake, and it is
TP, Hg, Chla impossible to reveal the differences in the driving factors of the lake’s
DO, BOD5, CODCr, TN, TP, Hg, ne2 0.98 e2 0.96 water quality change, so the WQI and ETI methods are used to
Chla comprehensively understand the water quality changes of Yilong Lake.
DO, CODMn, EC, TN, Hg, Chla ne3 0.97 e3 0.98
According to WQI and ETI values, the water quality of Yilong Lake
from 2008 to 2008 was at the “medium” level, but different indicators
monitoring point is relatively low (75.46 mg/L), which is about 20 mg/L differed greatly, especially the most serious pollution of TN and CODCr,
lower than the average concentration in the central and eastern regions. that is to say, the control of nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand is the
The high EC value is mainly caused by pollutants in surface water. primary problem that needs to be solved urgently in the protection and
Excessive input of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter is one of management of Yilong Lake. Studies have shown that the driving factors
the main causes of water pollution (Guo et al., 2016). From 2008 to of lake water quality changes can be divided into natural factors and
2018, the annual average concentrations of TN, TP, NH3-N and S− in the human activity factors, among which natural environmental factors
west of Yilong Lake were 2.99, 0.11, 0.30 and 0.03 mg/L, respectively. generally include water temperature, rainfall, water level, etc., consid­
Moreover, these four parameters all rose sharply in 2009 and declined in ering the availability of data and the distinctive characteristics of water
2014. The higher nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations may be due to level changes in the Yilong Lake. In this study, industrial wastewater
the dual effects of human activities and sediment release (Gopal et al., discharge, domestic sewage discharge, and solid waste production
2018). There is no obvious spatial difference in the average (mainly tofu processing) are selected to characterize the external

5
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Table 3 economic development and natural conditions. The insignificant influ­

Characteristics of water quality parameter in Yilong Lake. ence of factors such as GDP and population on the results of water
Parameter (West) (Middle) (East) Expectation Threshold quality may be related to its small growth rate. Related studies also show
Mean ± Mean ± SE Mean ± that exogenous pollution and endogenous release are one of the
SE SE important reasons for the deterioration of lake water quality (Li et al.,
DO1 6.88 ± 6.91 ± 0.22 6.78 ± 7.5 3 2015).
0.48 0.28 The second stage is from 2014 to 2018. This stage strengthens the
CODMn 1 16.37 ± 19.35 ± 19.19 ± 2 10 control of water pollution in Yilong Lake. A series of engineering mea­
2.29 2.09 2.02
7.08 ± 6.63 ± 1.22 6.88 ± 3 6
sures such as the implementation of dredging of sediments, external
BOD5 1
1.48 1.14 water supplement and the establishment of enclosures, etc., the WQI and
CODCr 1 75.46 ± 97.07 ± 99.87 ± 15 30 ETI of Yilong Lake increased, indicating that the water quality of Yilong
12.87 12.45 12.74 Lake has improved. Due to the water supplement project, the water of
EC2 55.15 ± 61.26 ± 61.17 ± 26.45 82.42
Yilong Lake increased significantly in 2014, and the rising water level
3.85 4.14 3.89
TN1 2.99 ± 3.74 ± 0.51 3.84 ± 0.2 1.5 has also become an important reason for the improvement of Yilong
0.55 0.49 Lake’s water quality.
TP1 0.11 ± 0.09 ± 0.01 0.09 ± 0.01 0.1
0.02 0.01
NH3-N 1
0.30 ± 0.33 ± 0.05 0.32 ± 0.15 1.5
4.2. Determination of key parameters and weights and their significance
0.05 0.05 for lake water environmental management
S− 1 0.03 ± 0.03 ± 0.01 0.02 ± 0.05 0.5
0.01 0.01 The WQImin model proposed in this research consists of six key water
Hg1 3 ± 0.66 4.54 ± 2.07 2.22 ± 5 10
quality parameters, namely DO, CODMn, EC, TN, Hg and Chla. The pa­
1.77
Zn1 9.05 ± 9.14 ± 2.21 7.78 ± 50 2000 rameters selected by the WQImin model should be able to fully explain
3.47 5.23 the overall change characteristics of water quality, and help to effec­
Cd1 0.07 ± 0.41 ± 0.23 0.12 ± 1 5 tively evaluate water quality with relatively low measurement costs
0.02 0.05 (Pesce and Wunderlin, 2000).
Chla2 9.41 ± 10.51 ± 11.04 ± 1.55 11.41
The parameters selected in this study also serve as references for the
2.10 1.66 1.79
establishment of WQImin models in other regions. Using WQI and
1 Indicates that the expected value and threshold of the indicator are determined WQImin models to select EC and TN to evaluate the water quality of
according to the surface water quality standards (GB3838-2002) Class I and IV
Taihu Lake, the model results are very adaptable to the water quality
water quality standards; 2 Indicates that the expected value and threshold of the
evaluation of Taihu Lake (Wang et al., 2019a, 2019b; Wu et al., 2018).
indicator are determined to be 5% and 5% of the actual measured content in the
As an indicator of organic pollution, CODMn is one of the two most
sampling point of the evaluation lake, respectively 95% quantile; among them,
the value of Hg increased by 10,000 times, and the value of Zn and Cd increased important water quality parameters for determining WQI in Aksu River
by 1,000 times. (Sener et al., 2017). DO and Hg are important water quality parameters
for evaluating WQI of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project
pollution of Yilong Lake. Population, GDP and tourism income are used (Nong et al., 2020). As an indicator of biomass, Chla is widely used to
as economic and social driving factors, sewage treatment investment assess the degree of lake eutrophication (Rankinen et al., 2019).
indicates the intensity of lake treatment. In early studies, the WQImin model generally did not consider the
It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the changes in WQI and ETI values of weights. As water environment changes are affected by many factors,
Yilong Lake can be divided into two stages, corresponding to the two some scholars have improved the water quality assessment method
stages of water quality changes. The first stage was from 2008 to 2013, based on WQI, taking into account the weight of each parameter in the
during which both WQI and ETI results showed a significant downward WQImin model, so that the results are closer to the actual situation
trend. Moreover, WQI and ETI have the largest correlation coefficient (Avigliano and Schenone, 2016; Naveedullah et al., 2016). Based on the
with domestic sewage discharge and tourism income, indicating that the same key parameters, this study comprehensively compares the two
water quality change of the Yilong Lake has a great impact on social and WQImin models with and without weight. The results show that the WQI
model considering the weight can explain the change of WQI better in

Fig. 4. Changes of influencing factors of Water quality in Yilong Lake (left: 2008–2013; Right: 2014–2018).

6
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

the western region, and the prediction accuracy of the model is higher evaluation method evaluates the characteristics of the lake’s own water
than that without the weight, but the difference between the middle and quality and selects expected values and thresholds. It is an evaluation
east is small. It may be the water quality in the western region is better, method based on the relative conditions of lake water quality (Cheng
and the weighted WQImin model can more clearly reflect water quality et al., 2018). In water quality management, the water quality charac­
changes. Therefore, it is recommended to use the weighted WQImin teristics of lakes under natural conditions of the evaluated basin can be
model to evaluate lake water quality. In addition, the determination of selected as the standard expected value, and the water quality charac­
the weight is also affected by the researcher’s personal experience and teristics of lakes with high intensity of human activities or specific
knowledge background, which may have a subjective influence to a quantile of water quality of monitored samples can be used as the
certain extent (Noori et al., 2019). standard threshold value. This kind of comprehensive assessment results
To analyze the applicability of WQI and ETI methods to other lakes, can be more consistent with the characteristics of the basin and the
this study selected Erhai Lake, the second largest plateau lake in Yunnan background characteristics, and it is suitable for the lake management.
Province, and Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Due to
the extremely low metal content of Erhai Lake, it has not been detected 5. Conclusion
in recent years, so the monitoring index pH is used to calculate the WQI
and ETI water quality evaluation results. The water quality index The study uses single-factor evaluation method and comprehensive
characteristics of Erhai Lake and Poyang Lake are shown in Table 4. evaluation method to analyze the water quality of Yilong Lake from
As shown in Fig. 5, the correlation between WQI, WQImin and ETI of 2008 to 2018. The main driving factors of the water quality change of
Erhai Lake is relatively high (R2 is 0.83 and 0.88 respectively, P < 0.01), Yilong Lake are revealed through the comprehensive evaluation
which indicates that WQImin has strong applicability in Erhai Lake. method, furthermore, a simpler WQImin model was developed based on
Spearman correlation analysis the correlation coefficient between WQI the WQI method to determine the key parameters. The main conclusions
and WQImin in Erhai Lake reached 0.93 (P < 0.05), and the correlation are as follows:
coefficient between WQI and ETI reached 0.96 (P < 0.05). The differ­
ence between WQI and WQImin in 2016 was large, mainly due to the (1) Yilong Lake’s single-factor water quality assessment result is
total nitrogen in Erhai Lake in 2016 has risen by 5%. Studies have inferior to Class V, the main water quality parameters that exceed
pointed out that the changes in the quality of Erhai Lake are mainly due the standard are CODCr and TN, and other water quality param­
to the combined effects of tourism and industrial and agricultural eco­ eters are better than Class V water standards. Comprehensive
nomic development, lake water level changes, and external pollution evaluation methods such as WQI and ETI methods are used to
(Wu et al., 2019). Poyang Lake Spearman correlation analysis WQI and evaluate the water quality of Yilong Lake at a “medium” level.
WQImin correlation coefficient is 0.80 (P < 0.05), WQI and ETI corre­ The annual average values of WQI and ETI in the west, middle
lation coefficient is 0.85 (P < 0.05), Poyang Lake water quality and east of Yilong Lake are 56.77, 52.39, 51.58; and 0.59, 0.50,
comprehensive evaluation methods are not as relevant as Erhai Lake and 0.50, respectively, showing obvious spatial changes. The water
Yilong Lake, maybe since the main water quality pollution indicators of quality in the west is slightly better than that in the middle and
Poyang Lake are nitrogen and phosphorus, when using WQImin to east.
evaluate water quality, the positive effects of CODCr and BOD5 on the (2) The water quality change of Yilong can be divided into two stages
water quality results are weakened. Moreover, the weights also have a through the comprehensive evaluation method. From 2008 to
subjective effect on the evaluation results. The selection of weights 2013, the water quality of lakes declined, and the main factors
should be based on the local conditions, the main pollutants and the affecting WQI and ETI were the increase of industrial sewage and
degree of lake water quality. tourism pollution; and from 2014 to 2018 the water quality is
Both WQI and ETI methods play an important role in water envi­ improving, mainly due to the lake water volume increasing to
ronmental management. WQI is an assessment method based on the real improve the self-purification capacity and the implementation of
situation of water quality, which scores the potential harm and impact of various projects to improve the water quality of Yilong Lake.
each water quality index on water health and sets the index weight (3) Six key parameters of DO, CODMn, EC, TP, Hg and Chla were
(Kannel et al., 2007; Pesce and Wunderlin, 2000). Therefore, the WQI determined by WQI method to develop the WQImin model. When
method can understand the true water quality through the assessment of the model considers the parameter weights, the accuracy of the
the absolute value of the water quality, enable the management lake water quality evaluation results is significantly improved.
department to understand the improvement of lake water quality, and Moreover, the WQI, WQImin, and ETI methods can be well applied
play an important role in monitoring the long-term changes in water to Erhai Lake and Poyang Lake, indicating the comprehensive
quality and evaluating the effectiveness of lake management. The ETI evaluation method has strong applicability to different regions.

Table 4
Water quality index characteristics of Erhai Lake and Poyang Lake.
Parameter Erhai Lake(2008–2018) Poyang Lake(2006–2016)

Mean ± SE Expectation Threshold Mean ± SE Expectation Threshold

DO1 6.86 ± 0.15 7.5 3 8.05 ± 0.11 7.5 3

COD1Mn 2.97 ± 0.12 2 10 2.79 ± 0.06 2 10
BOD15 1.93 ± 0.06 3 6 1.89 ± 0.08 3 6
COD1cr 14.99 ± 0.42 15 30 11.64 ± 0.43 15 30
EC2 31.01 ± 0.66 13.05 40.57 20.10 ± 0.35 10.55 27.10
TN1 0.53 ± 0.02 0.2 1.5 1.11 ± 0.04 0.2 1.5
TP1 0.02 ± 0.003 0.01 0.1 0.07 ± 0.006 0.01 0.1
NH3-N1 0.11 ± 0.01 0.15 1.5 0.37 ± 0.02 0.15 1.5
Hg1 – – – 0.1 ± 0.01 5 10
Zn1 – – – 12.47 ± 0.21 50 2000
Cd1 – – – 0.13 ± 0.01 1 5
PH 8.71 ± 0.01 6 9 – – –
Chla2 11.48 ± 0.84 1.73 12.71 5.20 ± 0.04 1.01 6.01

7
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Fig. 5. Relationships between WQI with WQImin and ETI in Erhai Lake and Poyang Lake.

The results of this study can provide a scientific method for water He, X., Wu, J., He, S., 2019. Hydrochemical characteristics and quality evaluation of
groundwater in terms of health risks in Luohe aquifer in Wuqi County of the Chinese
environment management.
Loess Plateau, northwest China. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess. 25 (1-2), 32–51.
Huang, C., Zou, J., Li, Y., Yang, H., Shi, K., Li, J., Wang, Y., Chena, X., Zheng, F., 2014.
CRediT authorship contribution statement Assessment of NIR-red algorithms for observation of chlorophyll-a in highly turbid
inland waters in China. ISPRS J. Photogramm. 93, 29–39.
Jackson, T., Sathyendranath, S., Melin, F., 2017. An improved optical classification
Tao Wu: Writing - review & editing. Shengrui Wang: . Baolin Su: . scheme for the Ocean Colour Essential Climate Variable and its applications. Remote
Huaxin Wu: Writing - original draft. Guoqiang Wang: . Sens. Environ. 203, 152–161.
Jindal, R., Sharma, C., 2011. Studies on water quality of Sutlej River around Ludhiana
with reference to physicochemical parameters. Environ. Monit. Assess. 174,
Declaration of Competing Interest 417–425.
Kannel, P.R., Lee, S., Lee, Y., Kanel, S.R., Khan, S.P., 2007. Application of water quality
indices and dissolved oxygen as indicators for river water classification and urban
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial impact assessment. Environ. Monit. Assess. 132, 93–110.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence Kocer, M.A.T., Sevgili, H., 2014. Parameters selection for water quality index in the
the work reported in this paper. assessment of the environmental impacts of land-based trout farms. Ecol. Ind. 36,
672–681.
Li, P., Wu, J., Tian, R., He, S., He, X., Xue, C., Zhang, K., 2018. Geochemistry, Hydraulic
Acknowledgements Connectivity and Quality Appraisal of Multilayered Groundwater in the Hongdunzi
Coal Mine, Northwest China. Mine Water Environ. 37, 222–237.
Li, Y., Liu, Y., Zhao, L., Hastings, A., Guo, H., 2015. Exploring change of internal
This research was jointly supported by the Yunnan Key Laboratory of
nutrients cycling in a shallow lake: a dynamic nutrient driven phytoplankton model.
Pollution Process and Management of Plateau Lake-Watershed (2020- Ecol. Model. 313, 137–148.
02-2-W2, 2020-02-2-W3), the National Major Science and Technology Liang, Z., Qian, S.S., Wu, S., Chen, H., Liu, Y., Yu, Y., Yi, X., 2019. Using Bayesian change
point model to enhance understanding of the shifting nutrients-phytoplankton
Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2018ZX07701001-
relationship. Ecol. Model. 393, 120–126.
17) and National high-level talents special support plan(For science and Liu, Q., Tian, Y., Liu, Y., Xu, D., Li, J., Jiang, Y., 2019. Characteristics of two
technology innovation talents to special support plan, No. 312232102). comprehensive assessment methods for water quality based on different evaluation
criteria and their applications in aquatic environment management. Acta Ecol. Sin.
39, 7538–7546 (in Chinese).
References Naveedullah, N., Hashmi, M.Z., Yu, C., Shen, C., Muhammad, N., Shen, H., Chen, Y.,
2016. Water Quality Characterization of the Siling Reservoir (Zhejiang, China) Using
Akkoyunlu, A., Akiner, M.E., 2012. Pollution evaluation in streams using water quality Water Quality Index. Clean-Soil Air Water 44, 553–562.
indices: a case study from Turkey’s Sapanca Lake Basin. Ecol. Indic. 18, 501–511. Nong, X., Shao, D., Zhong, H., Liang, J., 2020. Evaluation of water quality in the South-
Avigliano, E., Schenone, N., 2016. Water quality in Atlantic rainforest mountain rivers to-North Water Diversion Project of China using the water quality index (WQI)
(South America): quality indices assessment, nutrients distribution, and method. Water Res. 178.
consumption effect. Environ. Sci. Pollut. R 23 (15), 15063–15075. Noori, R., Berndtsson, R., Hosseinzadeh, M., Adamowski, J.F., Abyaneh, M.R., 2019.
Cañedo-Argüelles, M., Kefford, B.J., Piscart, C., Prat, N., Schäfer, R.B., Schulz, C.-J., A critical review on the application of the National Sanitation Foundation Water
2013. Salinisation of rivers: an urgent ecological issue. Environ. Pollut. 173, Quality Index. Environ. Pollut. 244, 575–587.
157–167. Pesce, S.F., Wunderlin, D.A., 2000. Use of water quality indices to verify the impact of
Cheng, X., Chen, L., Sun, R., Kong, P., 2018. Land use changes and socio-economic Cordoba City (Argentina) on Suquia River. Water Res. 34, 2915–2926.
development strongly deteriorate river ecosystem health in one of the largest basins Rankinen, K., Bernal, J.E.C., Holmberg, M., Vuorio, K., Granlund, K., 2019. Identifying
in China. Sci. Total Environ. 616-617, 376–385. multiple stressors that influence eutrophication in a Finnish agricultural river. Sci.
Gao, Q., Li, Y.i., Cheng, Q., Yu, M., Hu, B.o., Wang, Z., Yu, Z., 2016. Analysis and Total Environ. 658, 1278–1292.
assessment of the nutrients, biochemical indexes and heavy metals in the Three Saeed, A., Hashmi, I., 2014. Evaluation of anthropogenic effects on water quality and
Gorges Reservoir, China, from 2008 to 2013. Water Res. 92, 262–274. bacterial diversity in Rawal Lake, Islamabad. Environ. Monit. Assess. 186,
Giri, S., Singh, A.K., 2014. Risk assessment, statistical source identification and seasonal 2785–2793.
fluctuation of dissolved metals in the Subarnarekha River, India. J. Hazard. Mater. Sener, S., Sener, E., Davraz, A., 2017. Evaluation of water quality using water quality
265, 305–314. index (WQI) method and GIS in Aksu River (SW-Turkey). Sci. Total Environ. 584,
Gopal, V., Shanmugasundaram, A., Nithya, B., Magesh, N.S., Jayaprakash, M., 2018. 131–144.
Water quality of the Uppanar estuary, Southern India: implications on the level of Sun, W., Xia, C., Xu, M., Guo, J., Sun, G., 2016. Application of modified water quality
dissolved nutrients and trace elements. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 130, 279–286. indices as indicators to assess the spatial and temporal trends of water quality in the
Gorgij, A.D., Wu, J., Moghadam, A.A., 2019. Groundwater quality ranking using the Dongjiang River. Ecol. Ind. 66, 306–312.
improved entropy TOPSIS method: a case study in Azarshahr plain aquifer, east Tian, R., Wu, J., 2019. Groundwater quality appraisal by improved set pair analysis with
Azerbaijan, Iran. Human Ecol. Risk Assess. 25 (1-2), 176–190. game theory weightage and health risk estimation of contaminants for Xuecha
Guo, L., He, K., Wu, S., Sun, H., Wang, Y., Huang, X.u., Dong, R., 2016. Optimization of drinking water source in a loess area in Northwest China. Hum. Ecol. Risk Assess.
high-rate TN removal in a novel constructed wetland integrated with 132–157.
microelectrolysis system treating high-strength digestate supernatant. J. Environ. Vincon-Leite, B., Casenave, C., 2019. Modelling eutrophication in lake ecosystems: A
Manage. 178, 42–51. review. Sci. Total Environ. 651, 2985–3001.

8
T. Wu et al. Ecological Indicators 126 (2021) 107714

Wang, D., Wu, J., Wang, Y., Ji, Y., 2020. Finding high-quality groundwater resources to Yang, L., Song, X., Zhang, Y., Han, D., Zhang, B., Long, D., 2012. Characterizing
reduce the hydatidosis incidence in the Shiqu County of Sichuan Province, China: interactions between surface water and groundwater in the Jialu River basin using
analysis, assessment, and management. Expos. Health 12, 307–322. major ion chemistry and stable isotopes. Hydrol Earth Syst. Sci. 16, 4265–4277.
Wang, G., Li, J., Sun, W., Xue, B., Yinglan, A., Liu, T., 2019a. Non-point source pollution Zamparas, M., Zacharias, I., 2014. Restoration of eutrophic freshwater by managing
risks in a drinking water protection zone based on remote sensing data embedded internal nutrient loads. A review. Sci. Total Environ. 496, 551–562.
within a nutrient budget model. Water Res. 157, 238–246. Zhao, J., Temimi, M., Ghedira, H., 2015. Characterization of harmful algal blooms
Wang, J., Fu, Z., Qiao, H., Liu, F., 2019b. Assessment of eutrophication and water quality (HABs) in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman using MERIS fluorescence data.
in the estuarine area of Lake Wuli, Lake Taihu, China. Sci. Total Environ. 650, ISPRS J. Photogramm. 101, 125–136.
1392–1402. Zhao, L., Li, Y., Zou, R., He, B., Zhu, X., Liu, Y., Wang, J., Zhu, Y., 2013a. A three-
Wu, A., Zhao, Y., Qi, L., Zhu, G., Chen, F., Liang, Y., Cao, T., Zhong, W., 2019. Faster dimensional water quality modeling approach for exploring the eutrophication
response to water level increase facilitates Salix cavaleriei survival in Lake Erhai. responses to load reduction scenarios in Lake Yilong (China). Environ. Pollut. 177,
J. Freshwater Ecol. 34, 469–480. 13–21.
Wu, J., Zhang, Y., Zhou, H., 2020. Groundwater chemistry and groundwater quality Zhao, P., Tang, X., Tang, J., Wang, C., 2013b. Assessing Water Quality of Three Gorges
index incorporating health risk weighting in Dingbian County, Ordos basin of Reservoir, China, Over a Five-Year Period From 2006 to 2011. Water Resour.
northwest China. Geochemistry 80, 125607. Manage. 27, 4545–4558.
Wu, Z., Wang, X., Chen, Y., Cai, Y., Deng, J., 2018. Assessing river water quality using
water quality index in Lake Taihu Basin, China. Sci. Total Environ. 612, 914–922.