Temporal and spatial analysis of water quality in Saemangeum watershed using multivariate statistical techniques

This study performed a temporal and spatial analysis of water quality data for Saemangeum watershed located in the southwestern coastal region of Korea. Multivariate statistical techniques including cluster, discriminant, and principal component/factor analysis were applied with pre-analysis screening such as kurtosis and skewness checking, correlation testing, ANOVA test, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin statistics, and Bartlett’s test to assess and treat the dataset used in this study. This study used two water quality datasets collected on monthly and 8-day basis from 22 and 8 monitoring stations, respectively, within the study area from 2001 to 2013. The two datasets were handled separately. Strong positive correlations were observed between BOD and COD, and between BOD and T-P, indicating the presence of biologically active organic matter. The temporal analysis of individual months and seasons revealed that emphasis ought to be placed on the management of SS and T-P concentrations, especially in January and February during the winter season as well as in June and July during the summer. It is considered based on the spatial analysis that for effective management of water quality focus ought to be on the areas represented by monitoring stations; Wonpyeong A/3, Gobu A/3, Dongjin A/3, and Jeong up A/6 in Dongjin basin as well as Iksan, Iksan 1, Jeonju A/6, Tapcheon A, and Gimje/Mangyeong B in Mangyeong basin, especially during January, February, June, and July.