Improving water quality is one of the top priorities in the global agenda endorsed by the United Nations. To ensure the achievement of this goal, governments have developed plans to continuously monitor the status of inland waters. Remote sensing provides a low-cost, high-frequency, and practical complement to monitoring systems that can cover a large area. However, it is crucial to evaluate the suitability of sensors for retrieving water quality parameters (WQPs), owing to differences in spatial and spectral sampling from different satellites. Taking Shanmei Reservoir in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province as a case study, this study collected and sorted the water quality data measured at the site in 2020 to 2022 and Landsat 8-9 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI images, simulated the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, algae density, and turbidity using empirical multivariate regression, and explored the relationship between different WQPs using correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the fitting effect of Landsat OLI data was better than that of the Sentinel-2 MSI data. The coefficient of determination (R²) values of Chl-a, algal density, and turbidity simulated by Landsat OLI data were 0.70, 0.81, and 0.80, respectively. Furthermore, the parameters of its validation equation were also smaller than those of Sentinel MSI data. The spatial distribution of three key WQPs retrieved from Landsat OLI data shows their values were generally low, with the mean values of the Chl-a concentration, algal density, and turbidity being 4.25 μg/L, 4.11 × 10⁶ cells/L, and 1.86 NTU, respectively. However, from the end of February 2022, the values of the Chl-a concentration and algae density in the reservoir gradually increase, and the risk of water eutrophication also increases. Therefore, it is still necessary to pay continuous attention and formulate corresponding water quality management measures. The correlation analysis shows that the three key WQPs in this study have a high correlation with pH, water temperature (WT), and dissolved oxygen (DO). The results of PCA showed that pH, DO, Chl-a concentration, WT, TN, and COD_Mn were dominant in PC1, explaining 35.57% of the total variation, and conductivity, algal density, and WT were dominant in PC2, explaining 13.34% of the total variation. Therefore, the water quality of the Shanmei Reservoir can be better evaluated by measuring pH, conductivity, and WT at the monitoring station, or by establishing the regression fitting equations between DO, COD_Mn, and TN. The regression algorithm used in this study can identify the most important water quality features in the Shanmei Reservoir, which can be used to monitor the nutritional status of the reservoir and provide a reference for other similar inland water bodies.

The COVID-19 severely affected the world in 2020. Taking the two outbreaks in China in 2020 and 2022 as examples, the spatiotemporal changes in surface water quality levels and COD_Mn and NH₃-N concentrations were analyzed, and the relationships between the variations in the two pollutants and environmental and social factors were evaluated. The results showed that during the two lockdowns, due to the total water consumption (including industrial, agricultural, and domestic water) decreased, the proportion of good water quality increased by 6.22% and 4.58%, and the proportion of polluted water decreased by 6.00% and 3.98%, the quality of water environment has been improved significantly. However, the proportion of excellent water quality decreased by 6.19% after entering the unlocking period. Before the second lockdown period, the average COD_Mn concentration exhibited a “falling, rising, and falling” trend, while the average NH₃-N concentration changed in the opposite direction. The correlation analysis revealed that the increasing trend of pollutant concentrations was positively correlated with longitude and latitude, and weakly correlated with DEM and precipitation. A slight decrease trend in NH₃-N concentration was negatively correlated with the population density variation and positively correlated with the temperature variation. The relationship between the change in the number of confirmed cases in provincial regions and the change in pollutant concentrations was uncertain, with positive and negative correlations. This study demonstrates the impact of lockdowns on water quality and the possibility of improving water quality through artificial regulation, which can provide a reference basis for water environmental management.

The frequency of freshwater cyanobacterial blooms is increasing globally due to climate change and eutrophication, particularly in reservoirs. Reservoir ecosystems exhibit unique characteristics, and there is a complex relationship between factors such as light, temperature, nutrient salts, hydrology, and algal growth. The impact of the other factors on algal growth varies significantly among different reservoirs. Thus, it is crucial to assess the effectiveness of various algal control measures implemented in different reservoirs. This study conducted a comprehensive assessment by establishing a eutrophication model for the Shanzi Reservoir in Fuzhou City. The model incorporated meteorology, hydrology, carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling, and biological communities. The effectiveness of diverse management measures was systematically evaluated. The findings demonstrate that increasing the water level, reducing nutrient salts in sediments, and implementing ecological fish stocking effectively suppressed algal growth to varying degrees and improved nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Lower water levels and ecological fish stocking had a significant impact on algal reproduction, while sediment reduction had a minimal effect. Conversely, lower water levels and ecological fish stocking did not significantly improve nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the reservoir, whereas sediment reduction had a noticeable effect. Consequently, the management strategies for the Shanzi Reservoir should prioritize external control measures and the implementation of ecological fish stocking.