Latest figures show the city produced 16.38 million tons of industrial waste water in 2001, far less than the 21.77 million tons of domestic sewage.

"Industrial pollution in the Danjiangkou Reservoir is basically under control," said Sun Zhihao, head of the local environmental protection administration. "We will make more efforts to curb domestic and agricultural pollution in order to transfer clean drinking water to thirsty northern China."

Nearly 70 percent of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, water source for the middle section of the transfer project, is in Shiyan, a booming industrial city, whose lifeline is the auto industry.

Industrial sewage therefore had been a major pollutant of the reservoir.

According to Sun, the local government has worked hard to curb industrial pollution by adopting environmentally friendly technology, using recycled water in industrial production and cleaning up Shending River. This small river carried most of the city's sewage into Hanjiang River and consequently polluted the reservoir.

Some 77 percent of the waste water from Dongfeng Automobile Corporation, the country's leading automaker in Shiyan city, was being recycled, he said.

"As the automotive industry does not produce much chemical waste, the waste water can also be used to water trees and flowers," he added.

Meanwhile, a new sewage treatment plant will start operating by the end of this year, processing 55,000 tons of waste water per day.

"By 2005, its sewage processing capacity will be expanded to 160,000 tons a day," said Mayor of Shiyan Zhao Bin.

Under an ambitious water diversion project, the Danjiangkou Reservoir will be enlarged to provide at least 9.5 billion cubic meters of water annually to Beijing, Tianjin and some cities in Hebei and Henan provinces.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2002)