Anthropogenic River Segmentation Case Study: Bahlui River from Romania

This manuscript introduces a river segmentation method and explores the impact of human interventions through a long-term study of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, and biochemical oxygen demand. An indicator linking parameter concentrations to the river’s flow rate was used to assess the development of the examined parameters. The analysis spanned from 2011 to 2022, considering both seasonal and yearly variations. Normal probability plots served as statistical tools to evaluate whether the data followed normal distributions and identify outliers. The proposed segmentation divided the Bahlui River into four segments, each defined by anthropogenic stressors. It was found that, due to human activity, each river segment could be viewed as an “independent” river. This supports the idea that river segments can be analyzed separately as distinct components. The proposed segmentation approach represents an alternative approach in river water quality research, moving from traditional continuous system models to fragmented system analysis, which better reflects the reality of heavily modified river systems. The study’s findings are important for understanding how anthropogenic modifications affect river ecosystem functioning in the long term.