Science and Technology Daily: The Story of a Small Chinese Town That Faced Up To and Won the War on Pollution That Was Destroying Their Livelihood

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Sep 17, 2015, 08:18 ET

SHANTOU, China, Sept. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China-based Science and Technology Daily recently published an article bearing the headline: The Story of Progress in Pollution Control and Environmental Protection Made by a Small Town in Chaoyang District, Shantou, Guangdong Province. The English translation of the original and full content of the article appears below:

As China commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the Second World War, and Beijing residents breathe in the rarely experienced clean and fresh air and enjoy the blue sky that only could be seen during the city's APEC summits, Chaoyang District, a section of the city of Shantou in southern China's Guangdong Province, can claim success in its work with sewage treatment, delivering to the natives of the district, whether they still reside there or have emigrated abroad, the kind of environment that they could only dream of.

The September sun at high noon is as hot as it can be in the middle of summer in the district, nevertheless, the high temperatures didn't stop the local government from completing the river clean-up action within the planned three months. "We can make it," the governor of Gurao Town, Chaoyang District said to Zuo Zhaosheng, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily. Much to the point, the quality of the sewage post-treatment has met all regulatory standards for disposal. Due to the recent period of days of never-ending rain, the sewage that had been intercepted had started backing up and flowing in the reverse direction again. There is a discharge outlet for draining the treated sewage less than 10 meters from the sewage inlet. Chaoyang District secretary Chen Xinazao took another cup of the water from the discharge outlet and placed the cup under his nose to smell it for a while, then he raised his head and told the reporter that the treated water had nearly no trace of unpleasant smells. The sample met the sewage-converted water emission standards and the water there will be discharged into Lianjiang River and, via the river, flow into the sea.

The water inspection by high-level officials were the first series of actions of the Mobilization Meeting as part of the 100-day Intensive Campaign to Comprehensively Improve the Environment across the Lianjiang River Basin, an campaign initiated by Shantou's Chaoyang District. Officials from towns and villages throughout the Lianjiang River Basin and government agencies for pollution control and environment protection attended the meeting. Despite the scorching sun, prior to the meeting, the attendees had inspected three sewage treatment stations in person, including stream water running under the North Port Tongyu Immortal Bridge, water from both the Gurao Guantian pit and city moat and water brought in by the tide. A sign overlooking the river indicated that the river is one that is subject to pollution control and contains the name of the individuals responsible for the river's protection: the secretary of the district committee, the district's governor and members of the standing committee. At present, the person responsible for the water running through the moat the district's party committee secretary Chen Xinzao.

The moat used to be a disposal site for household waste and a sewage drain for the residents living in crowded conditions in the immediate vicinity. After a comprehensive series of treatment actions taken over the last few years, including rain-sewage diversion, landscaping, flood control and other measures, the moat today is a place with a pleasant view and fresh air. Trees and flowers have been planted and an antiskid green pedestrian road now runs the length of the river's bank. A park running along the river is under construction. It is safe to conclude that pollution control and environment protection is a priority for the new Party Committee of Chaoyang District as one of the elements for improving the lives of the local populace as well as a major test for party members and officials at all levels. Chaoyang, a city with over one thousand years of history, triggers nostalgic feelings among all of the city's residents and extends to all those originating from this city and that have emigrated to the four corners of the globe. Can clean water and blue skies return to Chaoyang District within the planned three months? Can a pleasant living environment with fresh air be delivered to the denizens of Chaoyang? The challenge of how can a picturesque impression of the city be created for the many people abroad who call Chaoyang home and dream about their hometown has been a concern that has been on the minds of the members of the new session of the party committee and of the local government.

So, they selected a hard-nut-to-crack: Guiyu Town.

Since the reform and opening-up policy took effect in China, Guiyu Town has gradually built a recycling and dismantling processing industry consisting mainly of buying used electrical equipment, electronics and plastics as well as used metals from which gold, copper and other precious metals had been extracted. In addition, mountain loads of plastic waste were simply collected. The incineration of the huge mass of waste led to a poisonous large cloud hanging over the town. Every river and channel, even the town' many small ponds, turned pitch-black and took on an odor similar akin to rotting fish… even the land became polluted: seeds could no longer sprout in the polluted soil and even when any lucky vegetable or crop did grow, it turned out to be laden with heavy metals.

We can quote a line from our national hero Lin Zexu to describe the horrifying situation: Few soldiers were available in the town, few arable lands adorned the village, few edible husks of corn were produced by the land, few of the rivers could provide drinkable water……

Since 2013, Chaoyang District's government has been considered pollution control in Guiyu Town as a mandate of the people, and the government took the decision to improve Guiyu's environment and bring it up to a new level with the support from leaders at all levels, by implementing strict laws and regulations and by deploying scientific and technological innovation in moves to completely resolve the problem.

Two years later, when Zuo Zhaosheng, the same reporter from Science and Technology Daily, visited Guiyu Town for a follow up interview, he saw the blue sky dotted with white clouds and clean and tidy streets, the wide variety of architectural styles of the buildings throughout the town, the evenly spaced yards, the green trees and red flowers, the clear rivers and clean roads, much the same as it is in other small and rich towns across Guangdong Province. Alongside a village committee's basketball court a pond of clear water ripples gently…

By looking at the photos taken before and after the implementation of pollution controls, it was quickly observed that the rippling pond had been a fetid black and smelly pit that was a deathtrap for any fish or worm that happened into in it!

Of the more than 5,000 dismantling workshops that lined the streets and alleys of the town, nearly 3,000 of them had been ordered to shut down, and the rest will be moved into an industrial park built specifically for the dismantling trade. Visitors can see the lines of straight avenues, rows of buildings for dismantling and processing alongside several environmental protection infrastructure projects within the park. Some of the projects are already in production, some are completed and waiting to start operations and some are still under construction—given what the town looked like before, it was quite a sight to behold…

Reporters visited sewage treatment plants built in cooperation with a high-tech company from Beijing, a workshop waste gas centralized processing system built in cooperation with university research institutes, fire and wet smelting equipment made in cooperation with leading domestic machinery manufacturers in the field and a logistics distribution system fully monitored by a technologically advanced computer network…

The park is driven by scientific and technological innovation. The town is one that has become adept at such innovation. The system is one that has been optimized to be economically efficient, energy-saving and environmentally friendly. This is a model of innovation-driven development that benefits the livelihood of the people.

At the time of the reporter's visit, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Guangdong Province Hu Chunhua and Guangdong Province Governor Zhu Xiaodan happened to be visiting and in the middle of conducting an inspection tour.

Setting aside the 100 days for proactively and aggressively ridding the town of the unlivable dirt and odor as part of the action to bring back the clear and clean waters that used to be the Lianjiang River turned out to be a success indeed.

SOURCE Science and Technology Daily