We investigated the water quality of Ishikari river, the longest river in Hokkaido, during a snow melting season. The results are summarized as follows:1. Changes of water quakty during the srow melting period. (1)During periods of rising water in snow melting seasons, the concentrations of particulate components, especially SS, TO Css, PP etc., usually increase. (2)The concentrations of BOD, TOCF and inorganic anions decrease as the water runoff increases, and the supply of these components from the surface seems to be limited, which tends to be remarkable in regions influenced by growth of the urban communities. (3)The accumulation of nitrogen, mostly as nitrate ions, is limited and nitrogen concentration in the late snow melting period is low. A large amount of phosphorus accumulates in soil and it runs off as a form of suspended phosphorus at high concentrations. (4)From PCA analysis, the run-off pattern of chemical components in this season is classified into three stages: dilution of pollutants (the early stage), outflow of pollutants originating from non-point sources (the middle stage), and outflow of non-pollutants (the later stage).2. Run-off characteristics of chemical components during the snow melting period. (1)The proportion of water flow during the snow melting season is nearly 30% of the annual average. General inorganic components are near this proportion, but pollutants are under 30%. Especially, the proportion of soluble organic components is small. The proportion of inorganic nitrogen is higher than 30% in urban watersheds. The run-off characteristics of chemical components are closely related to the pollution characteristics of the watershed. (2)Run-off in the snow melting season has less ability to flow out of the surface soil than during floods.
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