The Le'an River is a main tributary of the Poyang Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in China. The aim of this study is to research the distribution and potential ecological risks of heavy metals in the middle and lower reaches of the Le'an River, which is contaminated by nearby copper mines. Sediment and water samples were collected from 12 stations during the dry, wet, and normal season in 2016, respectively. The geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index were used to determine general pollution characteristics of trace metals in sediments. Results suggested that sediments in the Le'an River were considerably polluted by Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn. Sediment concentrations of heavy metals showed significant spatial variations. The concentrations of heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, and Cd in water are higher in the dry season than in the normal and wet seasons. The distribution of heavy metals along the river is influenced by hydraulic conditions. The flow velocities in wet and normal seasons are positively correlated with the concentrations of heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Cu, and Cr. There are seasonal differences in the distribution characteristics of heavy metals in surface sediments. In the dry season, the concentration of heavy metals in sediments is the highest in the middle reaches of rivers near mining areas, while during the wet and normal season, it reaches the highest value in the lower reach near the estuary. Except for Cd, whose major form of heavy metal in the sediment is in an exchanging state, the other heavy metals occur mainly in stable states. The assessment of the geo-accumulation index showed significant Cu, Cd, and Cr pollution. Among the heavy metals investigated, Cd was likely to result in more harmful effects.
Keywords: Le'an River; ecological risk; heavy metal; sediment; temporal-spatial distribution.