Pollution control campaign all set to shift into top gear

A total of 28 projects aimed at improving water quality will be carried out in Futian District this year.

Following a Futian District government meeting to review pollution control measures, it was decided that 926 million yuan ($145.5 million) will be allocated annually for pollution control renovation projects in all of the district’s housing estates.

According to the work plan, the district will complete renovating sewage pipe networks in 500 housing estates by the end of June and in all of the district’s housing estates by the end of this year as part of the project to separate sewage water pipelines from rain drainage pipelines.

The watercourse comprehensive renovation projects include the desilting of Xinzhou River and the water replenishment of Meilin Reservoir and Fengtang River, as well as treating Futian River, Xinzhou River, Huanggang River, Bijiashan River and Fengtang River.

Environmental protection laws will be enforced. Enterprises involved in the illegal discharge of water and air pollutants will be severely penalized. To fight air pollution, the district will carry out eight projects, including green construction, green living, adverse weather response, and higher vehicle emissions discharge standards.

All responsible government departments and State-owned institutions have signed a liability statement. Officers of the Futian Housing and Construction Bureau, the Bureau of Environmental Protection and Water Resources and Huafu sub-district have pledged to do their best to prevent water and air pollution.

The quality of tap water plays a crucial role in the daily lives of residents. In Futian, a total of 112,000 households in 197 housing estates have benefited from pipe network reconstruction under the first phase from 2013 to 2017, with a total investment of 750 million yuan.

After the reconstruction, the problems of lower water quality and high leakage caused by the old and rusting pipes were solved. The water supply management’s mode of having meter reading and fee collection done by an intermediary has also been canceled.

Under the second phase of reconstruction from 2018 to 2020, Futian will include 369,000 households in 612 housing estates. The secondphase project will be carried out over three periods. Periods five, six and seven will last from April 2018 to June 2019, November 2018 to June 2020 and March 2019 to December 2020. The investments for the three periods are 797 million yuan, 886 million yuan and 1.31 billion yuan, respectively.

For the reconstruction plan, every household needs to pay 200 yuan and the government will cover the rest.

Changtai Garden housing estate in Futian is a successful reconstruction case. Built in 1997, the estate is home to 338 households in two 30-story buildings. The underground pipes were made of galvanized steel and the pipes behind the meter were PVC, which caused rust and made the water yellowish.

In 2015, the housing estate applied for the reconstruction and in September 2017, the project was successfully carried out.