Title: Examining social-economic factors in spatial and temporal change of water quality in red soil hilly region of South China: a case study in Hunan Province

Authors: Zhong-wu Li, Qi Zhang, Yong Fang, Xiao-cong Yang, Qing-shui Yuan

Addresses: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China. ' College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China. ' College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China. ' College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China. ' College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China

Abstract: The study examines the temporal-spatial variation of water quality by adopting the comprehensive Water Quality Index, and the relationships between economic development and water pollution in Hunan Province by the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The results of temporal-spatial analysis show water pollution is worsening, the water environment in the west province is better than that in the east and the Xiangjiang watershed and Zhuzhou city are the worst. The regression result reveals the amounts of industrial and domestic wastewater have obviously opposite trends. The relationship between the total wastewater and GDP per capita shows an erect-U and then inverted-U shape.

Keywords: water quality; temporal-spatial variation; red soil hilly region; Hunan Province; comprehensive WQI; water quality index; EKC; environmental Kuznets curve; China; economic development; water pollution; total wastewater; GDP per capita.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2010.034234

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2010 Vol.42 No.1/2/3, pp.184 - 198

Published online: 30 Jul 2010 *

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