Maozhou River pollution control wins praise

A scene of the Maozhou River after treatment.

A seven-minute narration of Shenzhen’s achievements in the treatment of the Maozhou River was broadcast on the first episode of the documentary series “Beautiful China” on CCTV-1, one of the channels of State television broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), on Nov. 11.

The Maozhou River, Shenzhen’s longest river that separates the city and Dongguan, runs 31.3 kilometers with a drainage area of 388 square kilometers. It has 18 tributaries and a drainage area of 157 square kilometers in western Shenzhen’s Bao’an District.

After more than three years of treatment, the Bao’an section of the Maozhou River has taken on a new look, with clear water, lush vegetation and winding greenways on both sides of the river, the documentary said.

From “the most polluted river in Guangdong Province” to “the typical example of the remarkable improvement of the water environment in Shenzhen,” the great changes of the Maozhou River (Bao’an section) are inseparable from the great investment, scientific decision-making, determination and courage of the Bao’an District Party committee and district government, and the resolution of the entire district to crack this hard nut, the CCTV report said.

Bao’an has also piloted a unique water pollution control model featuring high intensity, continuous investment, whole-basin systematic governance and joint operation.

The report said that in Shenzhen, China’s most economically robust area, local residents are actively involved in water ecological protection.

Since 2016, Bao’an has invested about 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.19 billion) in the treatment of the Bao’an section of the river. During the peak period, 8,868 people and 1,896 pieces of mechanical equipment were arranged to work at 1,471 locations simultaneously.

According to the previously designed work plan, the goal has been to completely eliminate black and odorous water bodies in the Maozhou River by the end of December 2019 and to fundamentally improve the quality of the river.

On June 30, 2019, the dragon boat race on the Maozhou River in Shenzhen, which had been canceled for 13 years, was reopened.

Up to now, two sewage treatment plants and one sewage treatment station have been built in the Maozhou River Basin, with a new sewage treatment capacity of 55 tons per day and a total capacity of 85 tons per day. The sewage treatment capacity is 1.5 times that of sewage production.

Four new pumping stations have been built, with a water supply capacity of 93 tons per day.

In terms of pipe network construction, 2,513 kilometers of new rainwater and sewage diversion pipes have been built since 2016 and a sewage collection system has been built.