SHENZHEN will work with Dongguan to clean up the Maozhou River under a framework agreement the two cities signed Wednesday.
The Maozhou River runs for 31.3 kilometers through Shenzhen’s Guangming New Area and Bao’an District, as well as Chang’an Township in neighboring Dongguan.
It is sometimes called the “black river” by Shenzhen residents and is one of the most polluted tributaries in China, filled with construction waste and other rubbish accumulated from nearby industrial complexes. Factories near the river are well-known for polluting heavily, and the region’s large population of migrant workers has kept the factories in business and done little to stem the tide of pollution.
According to Guangdong Environmental Monitoring Center, the river is one of the most polluted rivers in the Pearl River Delta Region, and ranked at the bottom in a national water quality scale. The river’s cleanup project has been listed among the top 10 key environmental improvement projects in Guangdong Province over the past three years.
The most polluted section is situated at the boundary between the two cities, according to the center. In addition to labor-intensive industries, underdeveloped waste water treatment networks is to blame for the pollution.
Under the agreement, the two cities will collaborate to strengthen law enforcement on illegal drainage, shut down heavily polluting companies, and forbid labor-intensive and high energy-consuming companies from doing business along the river.
Water quality of the Maozhou River and its major tributaries is expected to improve to the Grade V standard for water pollution in 2017, and Grade IV before 2020. For comparison, only Grade I and II water can be used as drinking water sources in China. A cleanup project was launched in 2012 to improve water quality in the 18.8-kilometer upper and middle sections of the river.
(Luo Songsong)
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