The water quality in several branches of the Three Gorges Dam area is worsening even though
the main body of water has been getting slightly cleaner,
environmental authorities said this week.
The quality of water in the dam reservoir and higher reaches of
the Yangtze River has remained at category III - safe for drinking,
aquaculture and swimming - the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) said in an amended plan to tackle water
pollution in the area on Tuesday.
SEPA said several branches of the river were becoming less
capable of supporting the microbes and plant life that make water
fit for drinking and for fish and plants to grow in it.
"The target for chemical oxygen demand (a measure of water
quality) set for 2005 was not met," SEPA said.
Although several large wastewater plants have been built and
polluted factories closed or equipped with cleaning facilities,
some of the facilities have not been running at full capacity.
About two-thirds of the ecological conservation projects in the
plan have yet to start, the document stated.
The facilities used to monitor environmental changes in the
whole area have also not been put in place, it added.
Similarly, the mainstream of the Yangtze is flowing along the
reservoir more slowly than before, the document said. This
restrains the water from cleaning itself.
The tide beach, a result of the reservoir's seasonal change in
water level, will also expand to 300 sq km when levels rise to 175
m next year from the current 156 m. This area will be vulnerable to
pollution, SEPA said.
In 2001, SEPA and the National Development and Reform Commission
launched a 10-year plan to prevent and relieve water pollution in
the Three Gorges Dam but found flaws after five years of
implementation.
Under an amended plan completed on Jan 31, some 460 water
quality projects will be undertaken over the next three years at a
cost of 22.8 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion).
The public has also been encouraged to play a part in
environmental management and report problems associated with the
dam.
"Citizens and corporations should turn to the courts for
compensation if they are threatened by water pollution," SEPA
said.
The China Three Gorges Project Corp, the dam's operator,
introduced its own environmental improvement projects this
year.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)
