Water quality status response to multiple anthropogenic activities in urban river

Water quality evaluation and degrading factors identification are crucial for predicting water quality evolution trends in an urban river. However, under the coupling of multiple factors, these targets face great challenges. The water quality status response to multiple anthropogenic activities in an urban river was evaluated and predicted based on comprehensive assessment methods and random forest (RF) model. We found that the distribution of each physicochemical parameter exhibits an obvious spatial clustering. The mean pollution level and trophic status of the urban river are medium pollution (water quality index = 59.79; Nemerow’s pollution index = 2.00) and light eutrophication (trophic level index = 57.30). The water quality status is sensitive to anthropogenic activities, showing the following order of TLI and NPI values: residential district > industrial district > agricultural district and downtown > suburbs > countryside. According to the redundancy analysis, constructed land (F = 15.90, p < 0.01) and domestic sewage (F = 14.20, p < 0.01) evinced as the crucial factors that aggravated the water quality pollution level. Based on the simulation results of the RF model (variation explained = 94.91%; R2 = 0.978), improving domestic sewage treatment standards is the most effective measure to improve the water quality (increased by 40.3–49.3%) in residential and industrial districts. While in a suburban district, improving the domestic sewage collection rate has more effectively (23%) than those in the residential and industrial districts. Conclusively, reducing exogenous pollution input and improving domestic sewage treatment standards are vital to urban river restoration. Clinical trial registration Not applicable.