Water Quality Closely Monitored at Source of Diversion Project

Water Quality Closely Monitored at Source of Diversion Project http://english.cri.cn/6909/2011/10/17/189s663167.htm

• Ways to Listen • About Us • Jobs • Contact Us

• EZ FM • London • Sydney • Washington

Chinese Press Headlines Diplomatic Society Tue Oct. 18, 2011

Viewpoints Water Quality Closely Monitored at Source 3 New Stock Indices for China Historically, Chinese have typically of Diversion Project invested in real estate, but this risks causing a bubble that could burst and 2011-10-18 14:17:06 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Jiang severely damage the economy. Hence, there's a strong need for many Chinese to diversify their investments. Taobao's Tactics Too Blunt: Expert China's largest business-to-consumer platform, Taobao Mall, has announced that it is postponing raising its annual service fees and deposits for its registered sellers.

In Depth

Tea Road in Retrospect

Russian PM Putin Visits China

An aerial view of the Taocha sluice gate, which sits at the head of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, in Xichuan county of central China's Henan province in June 2003. [File Photo: CFP]

From next year on, water quality will become a form of criteria used to evaluate the performance of local officials in Xichuan county of central China's Henan province. Talk to CRI The whole range of ecological indices to be adopted for official evaluation include the quality of water entering Xichuan, the establishment of tree plantations, the control of soil erosion and treatment of garbage and waste water, as well as the number of polluting enterprises that have been shut down.

The new evaluation system will cover 17 townships and key enterprises of the county.

So why is so much attention being paid to water quality control in Xichuan?

As it turns out, the county is situated at the head of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which will provide high quality drinking water for a range of cities in northern China once completed, including Beijing.

More specifically, the route will relay water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir, starting from the Taocha village, Jiuchong township of Xichuan county, all the way up north through Henan and Hebei provinces, until the water View the Messages finally reaches Tuancheng Lake near Beijing. The route will run more than 1,200 kilometers. Part of the water will be provided to Tianjin municipality.

The water quality monitoring stations around the reservoir also show how much emphasis the government has put on water quality control.

At one such station in Taocan, which was put into operation in 2004, equipment imported from Europe tests water samples automatically every four hours and monitors its quality against a set of parameters, such as the temperature, pH Scale, Conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, Total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll.

Data from years of monitoring has demonstrated that the majority of the parameters judging local water quality meet the national standard for level II surface water, which means it can be used for the water diversion project.

Some parameters, such as the pH Scale, total phosphorus and chlorophyll, have met the level I standard, which means the water can be drunk directly, the Beijing Morning Post cites Chu Dongfang, head of the Taocha monitoring station, as saying on the noon of Sunday.

China classifies water quality into six levels, ranging from level I, which is good for drinking, to level VI, which is too

1 of 3 18/10/2011 5:25 PM Water Quality Closely Monitored at Source of Diversion Project http://english.cri.cn/6909/2011/10/17/189s663167.htm

polluted for any purposes.

Levels I to III means the water can be used for drinking, swimming and fish farming.

The Taocha station sits right by the Danjiangkou Reservoir. Data gathered there can be displayed on the monitoring screens of China's top environmental protection authorities in real time, the Beijing News reports. The city of Nanyang, which governs Xichuan county, plans to have a total of 12 such monitoring stations up and running in the future.

The first phase of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project will be completed in 2014 and will lead to the relocation of 345,000 people in Hubei and Henan provinces, the China Daily reports. The Danjiangkou Reservoir, which is the source of water for the middle route, sits between the two provinces.

The dam of the reservoir is being heightened to 176 meters, which will raise the water level to 170 meters to satisfy the need for the water project. But it will also mean 144 square kilometers of land will be flooded, and the 40 million cubic meters of tilled soil could become the potential polluting source for the water.

The Taocan station is currently collecting soil and other samples from the villages to be inundated to serve as raw materials for future analysis to determine the source of pollution, the Beijing Morning Post reports.

The middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is expected to bring 1.235 billion cubic meters of water to Beijing in its first phase. More than 160,000 people in Xichuan will be relocated.

1 2 3 4 5

Latest Messages

Your questions and comments

Name E-mail

submit

2 of 3 18/10/2011 5:25 PM Water Quality Closely Monitored at Source of Diversion Project http://english.cri.cn/6909/2011/10/17/189s663167.htm

CRIENGLISH.com claims the copyright of all material and information produced originally by our staff. All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes only is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.

CRIENGLISH.com holds neither liability nor responsibility for materials attributed to any other source. Such information is provided as reportage and dissemination of information but does not necessarily reflect the opinion of or endorsement by CRI.

• China • World • Video • Radio • Business • Travel • Showbiz • Language Learning China News Asia-Pacific Traveller Radio Programs Directory Audio Destinations Chinese Films Ask Pingping and Jules Chinese Press Europe Culture Heritage Highlights Markets Editor's Pick Music & Stage Chinese Studio Diplomatic Americas Beyond Stardom Livecast Editor's Choice What's in Art & Literature Elementary Chinese Society Middle East Dynamic China Ways to Listen Biz Photo On the Road Video Pop Charts Gallery Africa Life 360 Special Coverage Photo Gallery English News Panoramic Sports Special Coverage English Snippets

Web english.cri.cn

3 of 3 18/10/2011 5:25 PM