More than half of the population is living in an environment
where sewage is not treated, an expert said.
By the end of 2005, 278 cities across the country had no sewage
treatment facilities, including eight with a population of more
than 500,000, Zhao Baojiang, chairman of the China association of
city planning, told a recent conference on sustainable sanitation
held in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
About 5,000 administrative towns and 20,000 market towns also
had no sewage treatment facilities.
Water pollution is deteriorating, but orders of the State
Environmental Protection Administration to reduce the pollution are
being disregarded in some cities, Zhao said.
Zhengzhou-based Henan Business Daily reported yesterday that
five cities in Henan Province have still to shut down heavily
polluting companies.
The five cities are Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Zhumadian, Xinyuan and
Jiyuan.
The province's deputy governor Zhang Dawei is reported to be
furious about the five cities' malfeasance.
He criticized the cities at a conference focusing on water
pollution.
He said what polluting companies were doing was tantamount to
"killing people directly".
According to his report, nearly 30 percent of Henan's rivers
"smell and are muddy". Chemical and pharmacy companies are believed
to be the major polluters.
To improve the situation, the provincial environmental
protection bureau has asked local governments not to approve new
projects along polluted rivers in the province.
The bureau planned to close 150 heavily polluting companies by
the end of this year.
So far, 32 companies have been closed. The rest, including
thermal power plants and cement factories, are still operating.
About 61 county-level sewage treatment plants out of the total
89 plants have problems that affect operations, including
incompatible pipeline networks and seriously damaged
facilities.
In order to reduce water pollution, the provincial government
has asked all 18 cities to take measures and ensure at least half
of its surface water meets the required standard before the
year-end.
"If any city fails to fulfill the environmental goal, its mayor
must make an apology in front of all the people," Zhang said.
Members of the city's government leadership will not get
promotion either, he said.
(China Daily August 31, 2007)