Assessing the water quality in the tributary streams of Lake Baikal from chemical parameters

On the basis of hydrochemical investigations from 2010–2012 and with due regard for earlier data, we assess the present status of water quality for the main tributary streams of Lake Baikal. An analysis is made of the observed changes in the chemical composition of water induced by natural and anthropogenic factors. It is shown that the deterioration of the water quality in the Selenga river and in the small tributaries of South Baikal, respectively, is caused by wastewater discharges and by pollution of atmospheric precipitation, respectively.