Long-term variations of water quality in a reservoir in China

To study the spatial and temporal trends of water quality in the Yuqiao Reservoir (Ji County, Tianjin) in China, water quality data for ten physical and chemical parameters from three monitoring stations (S1, S2 and S3) was collected from 1989 to 2007 and from an other three stations (S4, S5 and S6) during the period of 1999-2007. A one-way ANOVA was employed to evaluate the spatial variation of water quality for each station. The results showed that there were statistically significant spatial differences for most water quality parameters except temperature and dissolved oxygen in the entire reservoir, and the concentrations of most parameters were higher in the uppermost part of the reservoir. The temporal trend study was conducted using the Seasonal-Kendall's test. The results revealed improving trends of water quality from 1989 to 2007, including a reduction of total phosphorous, temperature and biochemical oxygen demand and an increase of dissolved oxygen. High N:P ratios, ranging from 52.61 to 78.75, indicated that the reservoir was a phosphorous-limited environment. This study suggests long-term spatial and temporal variations of water quality in the Yuqiao Reservoir, which could be informative for water quality managers and scientists.