Study on the total water pollutant load allocation in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary and adjacent seawater area

With the rapid economic development, the water quality is worsening and red tide takes place frequently in the Changjiang Estuary and adjacent seawaters. To improve the marine water quality, the total inland pollutant load should be controlled effectively. With efficiency and fairness in consideration, the total maximum allowable loads of CODMn, NH3–N, inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate to the seawaters were calculated and allocated by the linear programming method based on the water quality response fields of the pollution sources. The maximum allowable loads are 2008 × 103 tons, 169 × 103 tons, 226 × 103 tons and 18 × 103 tons for CODMn, NH3–N, inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate when the water quality targets are requested to be achieved in the whole studied region, and 346 × 103 tons and 32 × 103 tons for inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate when the water quality targets to be achieved only in the red tide sensitive area. The cut task of CODMn and NH3–N is relatively easy and can be finished by the watershed environmental plan; while the cut task of inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate is tremendous. The coastal provinces should install more denitrification and dephosphorization facilities in the existing waste water treatment plants or build new ones to control the red tides in the concerned seawaters.