The evaluation of river ecological health is an important means of assessing the current state of river health

diagnosing river health problems

and formulating strategies for river protection and restoration. It is of great significance for maintaining the ecological health of rivers and the benign ecosystem of watersheds. Zhegao River is a primary tributary of Chaohu Lake

one of the five major freshwater lakes in China. Its ecological health directly affects the water quality and health of Chaohu Lake. Scientific assessment of its health status can better guide the ecological restoration of Zhegao River. This article constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system for the ecological health status of the Zhegao River in Hefei City

uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process to determine weights

and comprehensively evaluates the ecological health of Zhegao River from four aspects

i.e.

physical structure

water quality status

biological status

and social service function. The research results indicate that the overall health status of Zhegao River in Hefei City is in good condition

with an evaluation score of 85.87 points

but there is still room for further improvement. The main problems include inadequate management and protection of water shorelines

relatively weak stability of riverbanks; potential risk of water pollution; unclear biological status

weak ability to ensure biodiversity

gap between river management and protection status and public demand.