On February 20th, 2017, SIP Lvse Jiangnan Public Environment Concerned Centre (hereinafter referred to as “PECC”) received a call from residents near the Kaishan River Bridge in Suzhou High-tech Zone to report the pollution of the river under the Kaishan River Bridge. After PECC conducted an on-site research on the river, it was found that there were two pollution sources in the area that discharged a large amount of black and odorous sewage containing oil stains into the river, which had a serious impact on the living environment of the residents.

On February 21st, 2017, PECC’s staffs went to the location reported by the residents to conduct the on-site research. A total of two pollution sources were found in the survey, and the geographic locations of the pollution sources are shown in the figures below.

Figure 1: Location map of pollution source 1

Figure 2: Location map of pollution source 2

The river at pollution source 1 has been polluted as black as ink, with oil floating on the river surface, and the polluted river section is very long, spreading southward for several kilometers from the arch of the bridge.

Figure 3: Pollution source 1

After on-site investigation by the staffs of PECC, it was found that there were obvious hidden drainage pipes under the water on the southwest side of the bridge that discharged a large amount of black and odorous oily sewage into the river, causing serious pollution to the river. At the same time, the lives of nearby residents have also been seriously affected.

Figure 4: Pollution source 2

On February 21st, 2017, PECC submitted the “Research Report on Water Pollution in Suzhou High-tech Zone” to the environmental protection department, asking the environmental protection department to pay attention and verify it.

Captain Sun of the Environmental Protection Supervision Brigade of the High-tech Zone said that after receiving the PECC’s research report on March 1st, 2017, the Environmental Protection Supervision Brigade of the High-tech Zone began to investigate the pipe network of the rainwater and sewage in the area and found that the area is indeed the same as reflected in the “Research Report on Water Pollution in Suzhou High-tech Zone” by PECC. Due to the disrepair and aging of the pipe network, some enterprises have experienced the phenomenon of pipeline confusion in the pipe network of rainwater and sewage, resulting in black river water and the formation of oil over the water surface over the years. On April 11th, 2017, the staffs of PECC came to the Environmental Protection Supervision Brigade of the High-tech Zone to conduct face-to-face exchanges and dialogues on the issues reflected in the “Research Report on Water Pollution in Suzhou High-tech Zone”.

At present, the color of the river water under the Kaishan River Bridge has basically returned to normal. Enterprises in the area have carried out systematic investigations on the pipeline network of the rainwater and sewage. All the pipelines of enterprises with problems have been excavated, the aging pipeline network has been removed, and it has been rebuilt. Completely overhauled from point to point.

The photo after rectification is as shown below:

Figure 5: The water quality of the river under the Kaishan River Bridge after rectification

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.