ABOUT 75 percent of blackened and stinky rivers in Nanshan District have been treated, and water environment quality has been improved significantly. The task of water governance is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, according to the local authority, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

In recent years, Nanshan District has attached great importance to the treatment of blackened and stinky rivers. It is estimated that city and district governments have invested 11 billion yuan (US$165 million) on water treatment in Nanshan, showcasing their unprecedented determination to tackle this problem.

It is reported that four rivers in Nanshan District needed water treatment: Houhai River, Guimiao River, Chanwan River and Shuangjie River. The rivers have become polluted mainly due to poor hydrodynamic conditions, a lack of environmental capacity, solid waste, construction waste, mud and other non-point pollutants, and point source pollution such as rain and sewage diversion.

Houhai River has been completely deodorized and is clear. The main project on Guimiao River has been completed and Chanwan River and Shuangjie River will also receive remediation.

Houhai River is the first of the city’s 133 polluted rivers to be completely renovated.

“Houhai River smelled terrible before. Its water was black like ink in the daytime. But now it has a whole new look,” said a resident living in Baoneng All-City estate.

Now that the environment of Houhai River is good, she often takes her children to run along the river. Meanwhile, more and more residents in the area are also taking walks near the river, making the area lively.

Meanwhile, 370 residential drainage network transformation projects in the district have been completed, accounting for 35 percent of the city’s residential drainage projects, with 500 projects planned to be finished this year.

A survey of more than 800 non-housing estate sewage discharging entities has been conducted, marking the city’s first effort to promote the drainage network transformation for non-housing estate sewage discharging entities.

A river-chief system at the city, district, street and community levels has been established in Nanshan, and the district has clearly defined the organizations, tasks, working mechanisms and measures for assigning responsibility to protect the water environment.

The overall quality of the water environment of the district has been greatly improved. The water quality of Shahe River is now at Category V.

In the past five years, Shenzhen has increased its investment in water treatment. In 2011, the city’s total investment in water pollution control was 4.25 billion yuan. In 2016, the investment was increased to 11.04 billion yuan. In 2017, the investment is estimated to reach 19 billion yuan. The overall condition of the city’s water environment continues to improve. Currently, the city, including Longhua and Nanshan districts, has fully implemented the river-chief rule. (Zhang Yu)