On July 3, the State Environmental Protection Administration
(SEPA) announced that to safeguard the nation's four major rivers,
the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River and the Haihe
River, no new industrial projects would be approved in several
cities and industrial parks along their banks.
Anhui has been hard-hit with two cities,
Chaohu and Bengbu, along with an industrial park in Wuhu City being
banned due to their proximities to the Yangtze and Huaihe
rivers.?
On the western bank of Chaohu Lake, China's fifth largest
freshwater lake, Wang Jiahuai hailing from the nearby Miaowei
village near the provincial capital Hefei said on July 6: "When the
blue algae appears, it is a spectacular sight. They start off green
and then slowly turn black, releasing a foul odor."
"Half a month ago, we were hired by the local government to
clear out the blue algae and got paid 50 yuan per day," Wang said.
"A few days ago, the government dropped chemicals into the lake to
clean up the water, making the algae disappear," he continued.
However, the blue algae still dotted the lake's beaches and
invaded the lake again on July 19.
Miaowei village has stood witness to the evolution of pollution
in Chaohu Lake. "We have been drinking Chaohu water for 30 years,
but we can no longer even wash our clothes in it due to the stink.
Now we must dig as far as 30 meters into the earth to get drinking
water," said Li, another local villager.
"Almost every household has an underground well," Wang said.
"However, affected by the lake, the well water is becoming
tainted."
?
For local residents, the Chaohu Lake not only provided drinking
water, but fishing upon it was a major means of making a living.
"Chaohu shrimps are popular on the market and sell at 7 or 8
yuan per 500 grams," a villager surnamed Zhou said. However, with
pollution now depleting fish and shrimp stocks, some residents may
soon be forced to move to look for work.
Standing on a levee in Wuhu City, on the southern bank of
Yangtze River, white pollution belts can be seen arcing across wide
swathes of the Yangtze River, extending for long distances.
An economic-technological development area in the city was
blacklisted by SEPA on July 3 for its role in polluting the river.
Chinese automaker Chery's joint venture with Quantum LLC, a US
subsidiary of the Israel Group, is located here and such a ban will
hit Chery hard as it seeks to finalize deals with Chrysler and
Fiat.
"A lot of sewage water is directly discharged into the Yangtze
River," a local resident said.
Anhui's Anqing City, lying further down the Yangtze River is
also in trouble with an official at the city's environmental
monitoring center revealing: "200,000 tons of domestic sewage water
is discharged into the Yangtze River everyday; while an estimated
3600 tons of untreated industrial waste water is also being pumped
into the river by the Anqing Petrochemical Company"
Another major river that runs through the province Huaihe has
suffered the same fate leaving the residents of Bengbu City in
grievous trouble.
"Many people used to stroll along the banks of the Huaihe in the
evening, but now it is unbearable," said Wan, a villager from
Songtan village. Due to floods and pollution, the whole village has
been forced to relocate.
In a worse turn of events, the pollution has begun having
effects on the health of villagers including turning young men's
hair prematurely grey. Crops are also shuddering to survive with
the strong winds bringing ever more pollutants.
Who should be held accountable for the pollution?
In Bengbu, when the SEPA blacklist was announced, three
polluting enterprises were immediately instructed to suspend
production and four major polluting enterprises saw their senior
officials detained, along with four people from the local
environmental protection bureau.
However, a local company, FY group (an assumed name) which
residents blamed as the prime culprit for polluting the Huaihe
River was mysteriously not implicated in SEPA's investigation.
The company extends several thousand meters along the Huaihe
River, spreading a cloud of polluting dust.
"The FY group pumps waste water into the river from underground
pipes during the night," an environmental protection worker
said.
"The floods are coming and will spread the pollutants downriver.
Therefore, the water may be clean for a short period but the FY
group will be responsible for polluting it again," said an old man
surnamed Zhou.
The Bengbu environmental protection bureau refused to comment on
the FY Group but local residents were unified in saying that its
political connections helped it escape investigation.
"A desire to secure investment and a scramble for higher
economic development led by the local government has made all sorts
of enterprises set up shop here, including many polluting ones
which value profit over environmental safety," ?an official
from Hefei environmental protection bureau concluded. "This is the
root cause for Anhui's pollution problem."
All About
Blue algae
Taihu Lake
(China.org.cn by Yuan Fang September 10, 2007)
