SIP Lvse Jiangnan Public Environment Concerned Centre (hereinafter referred to as “PECC”) received a call from a resident of Dongqiao Town, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou City in November 2016, reporting several industrial pollution sources in the village to PECC. After a month of several on-site researchs in the area, PECC found a total of three pollution sources. The location is shown in the figure below.
Figure 1: Location map of the three pollution sources
Pollution source 1: The treatment of pollution is reduced to cause pollution, and the sewage is discharged privately, why?
The Dongqiao Centralized Sewage Treatment Plant in Xiangcheng District discharges black smelly sewage into the river, resulting in black and smelly river water. The polluted river extends to many downstream tributaries, and the downstream water is polluted to varying degrees.
Figure 2: The concealed outlet of the polluted river goes deep into the bottom of the river with pungent sewage
Figure 3: The polluted river water emits a foul smell
Pollution source 2: The hidden discharge outlet behind the enterprise fence
There is a hidden outlet in the farmland of Wudunshang Village, and the sewage from the hidden outlet has formed a small pond, meandering to the vicinity of the farmland. The sewage in the pond is blue and white, and a large amount of sludge and solid waste have accumulated at the outlet. There is still a layer of oil pollution floating in the sewage at the outlet, and the vegetation near the sewage has turned yellow and died.
Figure 4: The sewage outlet in the farmland
Figure 5: The sewage pond near the farmland
Pollution source 3: The hidden pipe concealed in the rural river is discharging sewage
In the middle of the river in Wudunshang Village, there is a dark black area that is visible to the naked eye, accompanied by a stench, and it is hot and steaming all year round.
Figure 6: The black and smelly river in the village
Figure 7: The clear dividing line of the river in the village
On January 14th, 2017, PECC submitted the “Research Report on Water Pollution in Dongqiao Town, Xiangcheng District” to the environmental protection department, asking the environmental protection department to pay attention and verify it.
On February 21st, 2017, at the invitation of Director Ma of Xiangcheng District Environmental Protection Bureau and Director Huang of Huangdai Town Environmental Protection Office of Xiangcheng District, PECC went to investigate the vicinity of Dongqiao Sewage Treatment Plant in Huangdai Town, Xiangcheng District to conduct on-site investigations for the location of pollution source 1 in the PECC’s report. Director Ma of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Xiangcheng District, Suzhou City said: The change of the environment in Xiangcheng District really needs the supervision and promotion of PECC. Director Huang of the Environmental Protection Office of Huangdai Town also warmly welcomed the supervision of PECC. He said that the follow-up upgrading and renovation projects and the follow-up results will also be regularly disclosed to the public.
On May 16th, 2017, PECC once again came to Dongqiao of Xiangcheng District to follow up the pollution source. It was found that the pollution control was in progress, the first location of the pollution source was under construction, and the pipeline had been overhead.
Figure 8: Construction Site
The river where the third pollution source is located was drained again, and the treatment continued. In addition, the river channel that is connected with the pollution source has also accelerated the treatment process, and the river channel has been divided into sections, excavated and started to build berths.
Figure 9: The river is being treated
Figure 10: The river is being treated
On September 20th, 2017, PECC’s staffs came to the site again to supervise and follow up, and found that the on-site remediation was coming to an end. The relevant infrastructure has been basically completed.
Figure 11: The construction is nearing completion
On October 11th, 2017, the staffs of PECC once again came to the site to inspect, and the infrastructure facilities were further improved.
Figure 12: PECC’s staffs follow up the progress
Progress of this case: According to the staff of the Environmental Protection Bureau, more than 10 million yuan is going to be invested in rectification. At present, the rectification of the pollution sources and river courses has been completed.
This project is the “Sniper Battle of Water Pollution of Tai Lake” project of the East China Center of SEE.
Thanks to Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE) for its financial support. The content and opinions in this article only represent the author’s personal views and have nothing to do with the position or policies of SEE.