[Improvement of River Water Quality by Aeration: WASP Model Study]

Aeration is one of the main technical methods to remediate polluted rivers, and mathematical models are the main ways to predict and assess the environmental pollution. WASP model was used to study the effect of aeration on improving the water quality of a small river over a time span. The preliminary results showed that the simulation values were consistent with practical monitoring data, which could be useful for the management and control of polluted water. Furthermore, simulations under different aeration conditions suggested that aeration technology could significantly lower the levels of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH4(+)-N) of river water, thus improving the water quality. With the improvement of dissolved oxygen (DO), the water quality could be further improved. However, the increase in the removal rate of pollutants would slow down. Also, there were remarkable differences among various months throughout the whole year, and aeration from May to September had better results. Considering economic costs and environmental benefits, river aeration with a 4 mg x L(1) DO standard in summer was determined as the best condition.