River Basins

The Freshwater Environment

General Situation:

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Seven Main River Basins

Among the 407 key sections on the seven major river systems, which were monitored in 2003, 38.1% met Grades I-III water quality standards, 32.2% were Grade IV and Grade V, and 29.7% were worse than Grade V. Among the 118 nationally controlled sections on the seven major river systems, 53.4% were Grades I-III, 37.3% were Grade IV and Grade V, and 9.3% were worse than Grade V. The water quality of mainstreams was generally better than that of the branches.
Pollution in the Haihe River System was serious: more than 50% of river sections monitored were Grade V. The water quality of Liaohe River was poor: 40.6% of river sections monitored were Grade V. The water quality of the Yellow River was poor too: pollution in its branches was bad in general. The mainstream of Huaihe River was mostly Grade IV, and its branches and river sections along provincial boundaries also had poor quality. Songhuajiang River was mostly Grade IV. The Pearl River and the mainstream and major branches of the Yangtze River had good water quality and were mostly Grade II.
The seven major river systems can be put into the following order, in terms of the seriousness of pollution according to the comprehensive pollution index: Haihe, Liaohe, the Yellow River, Huaihe, Songhuajiang, Yangtze River, and the Pearl River.
Compared with the previous year, pollution in Haihe, Liaohe, and Huaihe Rivers had been alleviated to some extent, whereas pollution in Songhuajiang, the Pearl River, and the Branches of the Yellow River had become more serious.
The main pollutants of the seven river systems were organic pollution. Main pollution indicators were: petroleum, BOD, ammonia nitrogen, permanganate index, volatile phenols, and mercury.

Main River Basins in China

The Yangtze River System: There were 103 nationally controlled river sections. Among them, 71.8% were Grades I-III, 17.5% were Grades IV-V, and 10.7% were worse than Grade V. The main pollution indicators were petroleum, and ammonia nitrogen.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Yangtze River System

The Yellow River System: The overall water quality of the Yellow River System was medium pollution. Among the 44 nationally controlled sections, 38.7% were worse than Grade 5. Among the 22 sections monitored on the mainstream, 31.8% were Grades II-III, 54.6% were Grades IV-V, and 13.6% were worse than Grade V. The water quality of the mainstream was better than that of the branches.The main pollution indicators were petroleum, ammonia nitrogen, and permanganate index.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Yellow River System

The Pearl River System: The overall water quality of the Pearl River was quite good. Among the 33 nationally controlled sections, 81.8% were Grades I-III, 12.1% were Grade IV, and 6.1% were worse than Grade V. The main pollution indicators were volatile phenol, ammonia nitrogen, and petroleum.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Pearl River System

The Songhuajiang River System: Among the 41 nationally controlled river sections, the percentage of sections that were Grades III, IV, V and worse than Grade V was 7.7%, 64.1%, 10.3%, and 17.9% respectively. The Nenjiang River and the mainstream of Songhuajiang River were mostly Grade IV water. The main pollution indicators were petroleum, ammonia nitrogen, and permanganate index.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Songhua River System

The Huaihe River System: Of the 86 nationally controlled river sections, Grades II-III water accounted for 18.6%, Grades IV-V water accounted for 41.9%, and worse-than-Grade V water accounted for 39.5%. Among the 14 sections on the mainstream, the percentage of sections that were Grades II, III, IV, and V was 14.3%, 21.4%, 57.1%, and 7.1% respectively. 56.8% of the provincial reach has worse-than-Grade V water. The main pollution indicators were ammonia nitrogen, petroleum, and BOD.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Huaihe River System

The Haihe River System: Among the 65 nationally controlled river sections, Grades I-III water accounted for 21.5%, Grade IV and V water accounted for 24.6%, and Grade V accounted for 53.9%. Pollution in Haihe River was still serious, and the water quality had been improved as compared with the previous year. The main pollution indicators were ammonia nitrogen, BOD, and petroleum.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Haihe River System

Liaohe River System: Among the 37 nationally controlled river sections, 29.7% were better than Grade III, 29.7% were Grade IV or Grade V, and 40.6% were worse than Grade V. The overall water quality of the Liaohe River was medium pollution. The main pollution indicators were BOD, petroleum, and volatile phenol.

Grade percentage of Water Quality in Liaohe River System

Rivers in the Zhejiang and Fujian Region: Among the 30 river sections monitored on 18 rivers, 33.3% were Grade II, 30% were Grade III, and 36.7% were Grade IV. The main pollution indicators were volatile phenol, petroleum, and ammonia nitrogen.

Rivers in the Southwestern Region: The overall water quality was light pollution. Among the 17 sections monitored on 10 rivers, 58.8% were Grade I and Grade II, 29.4% were Grade IV and V, and 11.8% were worse than Grade V. Two sections of Honghe River at Hekou County were seriously polluted. The main pollution indicators were lead and permanganate index.

Inland Rivers: The overall water quality was good. Among the 19 sections monitored on 7 rivers, 21.1%, 42.1%, 21%, and 15.8% were Grades I, II, III, and IV respectively. The main pollution indicator was petroleum.

Reference: Report on the State of the Environment of China (2003) State Environmental Protection Administration of China