Abstract: The water quality monitoring operation to evaluate the water quality of highly polluted river is extremely important task for the river-watershed management/control based on the environmental policy. In this study, the novel, simple and convenient water quality monitoring of Jialing-river in Chongqing, China was developed using an advanced ion chromatography (IC) consisting of ion-exclusion/cation-exchange chromatography (IEC/CEC) with conductivity detection for determining simultaneously common anions such as SO42-, Cl-, and NO3- and the cations such as Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, the ion-exclusion chromatography (IEC) with visible detection for determining simultaneously the nutrient components such as phosphate and silicate ions, and the IEC with the enhanced conductivity detection using a post column of K+-form cation-exchange resin for determining HCO3--alkalinity as an inorganic-carbon source for biomass synthesis in biological reaction process under the aerobic conditions. . According to the ionic balance theory between the total equivalent concentrations of anions and cations, the water quality evaluation of the Jialing-river waters taking at different sampling sites in Chongqing metropolitan area was carried out using the advanced IC system. As a result, the effectiveness of this novel water quality monitoring methodology using the advanced IC system was demonstrated on the several practical applications to a typical biological sewage treatment plant placed on Jialing-river of Chongqing.

Key words: Advanced ion chromatography, Anions, Cations, Chongqing, Jialing-river, Nutrients, Bicarbonate-alkalinity, Sewage, Water quality monitoring/evaluation