Assessment of water quality in coastal water areas of Jiangsu Province

Based on a survey of the marine environment in the coastal water areas of Jiangsu Province in July of 2006,an assessment of the quality of coastal water in Jiangsu Province was conducted.The results show that indices including pH,active phosphate,As,Cu,Cd,Zn,and total chromium all reached the Grade Ⅱ standard of the National Marine Water Quality Standards(GB?3097—1997).However,the concentrations of DO,TP,TN,and Pb exceeded the Grade Ⅱ standard,by 79.10%,54.35%,34.15%,and 41.46%,respectively.The concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and Hg had relatively low standard-exceeding rates.In addition,the marine water was slightly polluted by oil.Of the three coastal water areas from the north to the south,the water quality in Haizhou Bay was relatively good,while the water pollution in the coastal zone of radial sand ridges and the north branch of the Yangtze Estuary were relatively serious. Furthermore,the distribution of the monitoring points with standard-exceeding rates was irregular in the coastal zone of radial sand ridges.