RESIDENTS in Buji Subdistrict in Longgang District have been living in an unpleasant environment because the Buji Water Purification Plant nearby has given out a repulsive odor for years.

    “Even though we have suffered from the smell for so many years, I still want to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself just to escape it,” said a parent who was waiting to pick up his kid from a school in the neighborhood.

    Though a new underground Buji Water Treatment Plant was put into use in August 2011, the old purification plant is still in service, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

    A resident surnamed Liu said that the purification plant was put into use in 2002 and processes around 10 tons of sewage daily during peak seasons. According to Liu, the odor can spread a few kilometers, especially during rainy days and summers.

    The residents were counting on the new plant to replace the old one, but to their disappointment, the old plant is still in use. People have complained online.

    The report said that the new water treatment plant is currently overloaded with the amount of used water to treat on a daily basis, so the old purification plant is still in use.

    The Shenzhen Municipal Water Affairs Bureau said in interviews with media in 2014 that the underground water treatment plant was dealing with more used water than it could handle the year before and could not accept more.

    The water affairs department in Longgang District said they conduct regular tests on the old water purification plant and the odor is within national standards.

    A staff member with the purification plant said the municipal bureau had already launched a public bidding project last year, looking for companies to renovate the water purification plant in Buji.

    The water affairs bureau said the plant will have leisure facilities built for residents in the neighborhood after the renovation.

    (Zhang Qian)