Yunnan Province in southwest China is considering channeling water from Jinsha River to the high plateau lake Dianchi to curb serious pollution in the lake.
The river water may cause the stagnant water in the lake to flow, and therefore the pollution and water shortage troubles could be solved, according to Chen Xunru, vice-governor of the province.
Experts intend to draw water from Hutiao Gorge, one of the world's deepest gorges several hundred kilometers away from the lake.
Dianchi Lake, covering 306 square kilometers, is China's sixth-largest freshwater lake, and plays a key role in the ecological environment in Kunming, the provincial capital.
Today, the lake's water has been seriously polluted by large amounts of industrial and domestic waste discharged into it over the last 20 years, and fast-increasing algae is also clogging it up.
In 1997, the Chinese government listed Dianchi Lake as a key part of a project to protect the country's major "three rivers and three lakes (Liaohe, Huaihe and Haihe rivers, and Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes)."
The government has earmarked billions of yuan to protect the lake's environment from deteriorating, and has achieved some good results. But environmental experts say completely ending the pollution requires constant efforts over a long period of time.
(People’s Daily 05/03/2001)
