wcm.04.2025.779.784

The study evaluates anthropogenic impact on urban and suburban territories through monitoring chemical parameters of small river waters. The research encompasses 16 watercourses draining the territory of Khabarovsk and its suburbs. Water sampling and measurements were conducted during the winter low-water period using data from 2017 to 2025. Cluster analysis identified four groups of water bodies differing in the degree of alteration of hydrochemical parameters and presence of anthropogenic pollutants. The areas experiencing the highest anthropogenic impact were determined, along with potential sources of pollutants. The first cluster includes rivers flowing through the southern and northeastern parts of Khabarovsk. The second cluster comprises mainly rivers from the central part of Khabarovsk and occasionally from the eastern part. The third cluster includes both central and remote district rivers of Khabarovsk. The fourth cluster consists exclusively of rivers draining the territory of the Bolshekhekhtsirsky Nature Reserve. Samples from this cluster exhibit the lowest chemical substance concentrations, indicating minimal anthropogenic influence. These rivers can serve as background values for chemical substance concentrations in small rivers draining Khabarovsk and its inhabited suburbs, providing a reference for assessing technogenic pollution. The possibility of using cluster analysis of small river hydrochemical research data to indicate the intensity and types of anthropogenic impact on urbanized areas has been demonstrated.