Abstract: An investigation on the environmental quality of the surface water in peri-urban vegetable bases of Nanjing was conducted.The results indicate: i)the surface water has been polluted to a varying extent by nitrogen and phosphorus,rather than by Pb,Cu,Zn,Cd and Cr; ii)the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of river water was severer than that of pond water.In terms of forms of nitrogen and phosphorus,the proportions of ammonium nitrogen and water soluble phosphorus were higher in river water than in pond water,while the proportions of nitrate nitrogen,organic nitrogen and organic phosphorus were higher in pond water than in river water,which is helpful in identifying sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in the surface water.The concentrations of total nitrogen,total phosphorus and Pb,Cu,Zn and Cd were higher in river mud than in pond sludge,which implies the risk of nitrogen,phosphorus and heavy metals pollution was higher in river water than in pond water; iii)the nitrogen,phosphorus and heavy metals in the surface water of peri-urban vegetable bases came mainly from the discharge of domestic sewage and the overdosed application of manure in the vegetable fields.So,it is necessary to protect the surface water from contamination first by purifying the domestic sewage before being discharged into rivers and rationalizing manure application in vegetable production.

Key words: peri-urban, surface water, heavy metal, nitrogen, phosphorus