Formulation of river health index and its application to the upper reach of minjiang river

Based on the analysis of the characteristic index system of river health prevailing in other countries, a formula to calculate the river health's index in five different aspects, i. e. hydrology, river morphology, condition of riparian zone, water environment and aquatic organisms was brought forth. A four-grade evaluation system including “healthy, sub-healthy, morbid, deteriorative” was founded on this formula. The evaluation system for river health was adopted to estimate the river health status of the upper reach of minjiang river. This evaluation result of river health conforms to the reality of the upper reach of minjiang river, and the development of hydropower station had brought enormous influence to the upper reach of minjiang river.