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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Evaluating Spatiotemporal Patterns of
Non-Point Source Pollution and Related
Mitigation Measures in High Density
Urban Area Using the SWAT Model
1
School of Future Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou City Guangdong Province, 510641, China
Submission date: 2024-08-09
Final revision date: 2024-09-30
Acceptance date: 2024-10-28
Online publication date: 2025-01-07
Publication date: 2025-11-14
Corresponding author
Aobo Sun
School of Future Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou City Guangdong Province, 510641, China
School of Future Technology, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou City Guangdong Province, 510641, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(6):8229-8244
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
With the enhancement of sewage and drainage system infrastructure and the increase in water quality
purification plant effluent standards in urban regions of China, point-source pollution in most urban
areas has been effectively controlled. However, due to the rapid population growth and expansion of
urban areas during the urbanization process, non-point source pollution plays an increasingly important
role in the pollution of urban surface water. This study addresses the existing challenges in accurately
quantifying loads and identifying characteristics of non-point source pollution in high density urban
areas by taking the Guanlan River basin as a case study area. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool
(SWAT) model was used to simulate the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads originating
from non-point source pollution in the basin, as well as to identify their spatiotemporal patterns.
Through establishing two pollution mitigation measures comprising six scenarios, in conjunction with
the SWAT model, the mitigated efficiency of TN and TP levels for each scenario in the case study
area in 2022 was evaluated. The simulated values of the SWAT model revealed a good agreement with
the observed data for runoff, TN, and TP. The SWAT model was employed to examine spatiotemporal
characteristics of non-point source pollution TN and TP loads in the study area in 2022. Spatially, some
sub-basins exhibited relatively high levels, with TN levels varying between 1036.1 and 1523.9 kg/km2
and TP levels ranging from 473.5 to 572.9 kg/km2. Temporally, the most severe precipitation runoff
pollution was recorded in May, where TN and TP loads reached 252.47 kg/km2 a nd 215.91 k g/km2,
respectively. It was observed that both filter strips and grassed waterways measures have been proven
effective in mitigating non-point source pollution in the case study area. These engineering measures
indicate the appealing potential in reducing the TN and TP from non-point source pollution in high
density urban areas China-wide.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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