The organic pollution is quite prevalent in the main rivers in China and the non-point source pollution is becoming more and more serious. The pollution in Liao River and Hai River is rather serious and the water quality in Huai River is rather bad. The water quality in the Yellow River is not so optimistic. The water quality in Songhua River is passably good and the water quality in Pearl River and the Yangtze is good on the whole. The eutrophication in the main lakes is rather serious.
Major River Systems
Yangtze River Basin The water quality in the main stream is all right. The main pollution indicators in the 31 water quality monitoring sections reached II and III Levels. As to the first class main branches: Han River reached I and II Levels, Jialing River reached II and III Levels, and the water quality in the four rivers - Xiang River, Zi River, Ruan River and Li River ranged from II to IV Levels.
Among the 7 water quality monitoring sections in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, the water quality in five sections were at Level II and in the other two, it was at Level III.
Yellow River Basin The river basin faces the pressures of water resource shortage and pollution. In 1999, the drying-up period of the Yellow River added up to 42 days, with 95 days less than the previous year. Among the 114 water quality monitoring sections, the sections with the water quality from I to III Levels, account for 18.4%, and the sections with water quality of Level V and worse than Level V account for 63.1%. The major pollution indicators are permanganate index, BOD, ammonia nitrogen, petroleum and so on. The main branches of the Yellow River - Fen River, Wei River, Yiluo River, Xiaoqing River are seriously polluted.
Pearl River Basin The water quality is good on the whole. Among the 42 water quality monitoring sections, the sections with III and IV Levels water quality in the main stream account for 50.0% separately. In the Xi River, 87.0% of the sections are at Level II. The water quality in each section in the Bei River ranges from II to III Level. In Dong River, the water quality in 90.0% of the sections is at Level II and the main stream through Guangzhou is comparatively seriously polluted. The major pollution indicators are permanganate index and ammonia nitrogen.
Songhua River Basin The river is at medium level pollution. Among the 17 water quality monitoring sections, the sections with II to III Level water quality account for 17.6% and the IV Level accounts for 70.6%. The main indicators are permanganate index and ammonia nitrogen.
Huai River Basin In the main stream, the water quality is mainly at Level III. The water quality in the branches is mainly Level IV and worse than Level V. At the trans-provincial borders of the river, the water quality is mainly Level V and worse than Level V. In 1999, there was little rain precipitation and the water quality is a little bit worse than that in the previous year.
Among the 79 water quality monitoring sections of the Huai River Basin, the sections with Level V water quality and worse than Level V account for 56.2%. The sections with Level IV water quality account for 43.8%. The main pollution indicators are non-ionic ammonia (ammonia nitrogen) and permanganate index.
Hai River Basin The river is seriously polluted. Among the 171 water quality monitoring sections, the sections with Level I to III water quality account for 41.5%, Level IV accounts for 8.8% and the sections of Level V and worse than Level V account for 49.7%. The main pollution indicators are permanganate index and non-ionic ammonia.
Liao River The river is seriously polluted. Among the 52 water quality monitoring sections, the ones worse than V level accounts for 69.3% (Among the 15 sections in the main stream, the ones Level V account for 86.7%). The pollution in Hun River through Shenyang, Da Liao River through Tieling and Taizi River through Anshan is especially polluted. The main pollution indicators are COD, permanganate index, petroleum and ammonia and nitrogen.
Rivers in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces The water quality in the rivers in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces is good on the whole. The river courses with Level III ambient surface water quality standards or better than that account for 71.0%, among which Level I water quality accounts for 6.0%, Level II accounts for 24.0% and Level III accounts for 41.0%. In 29.0% of the river courses with pollution, Level IV water quality is 16.0%, Level V water quality is 9.0% and water quality worse than Level V accounts for 4.0%. The main pollution indicator is ammonia nitrogen. Jinhua River and Qu River are comparatively seriously polluted.
Inland Rivers The inland rivers are less polluted. The water quality in 93.0% of the river courses being assessed reaches or is better than Level III ambient surface water quality standard, among which, the river courses with Level I water quality account for 17.0%, Level II water quality accounts for 42.0% and Level III water quality is 34.0%. In 7% of the polluted rivers, the river courses with Level IV water quality account for 5.0% and Level V water quality account for 2.0%. The main pollution indicators are ammonia nitrogen and volatile phenol.
Urban River Courses The river courses going through urban areas are normally polluted. In the 141 state-controlled urban river courses, the water quality in 36.2% of the urban river courses is at Level I to III and 63.8% of the water quality in the urban river courses is at Level IV to worse than Level V. In the typical water areas in the 47 key environmental protection cities (municipalities directly governed by the Central Government, provincial capitals, special economic zones, coastal open cities and key tourist cities), 19.2% of the water quality is Level II, 14.9% is Level III, 25.5% is Level IV, 10.6% is Level V and 29.8% is worse than V Level. Due to the large amount of the surface run-off, the surface water in the cities in East-China and along the Yangtze River and the Yellow River is very good. The surface water quality in the cities along Hai River and Liao River is rather bad.
The typical water areas in the cities are mainly polluted by ammonia nitrogen and organic pollution. The major pollution indicators are ammonia nitrogen, permanganate index and COD.
The sequence of the most serious pollution to the least pollution of the seven river systems is: Liao River, Hai River, Huai River, Yellow River, Songhua River, Pearl River and the Yangtze. Compared with the previous year, the water quality of Level V and worse than Level V in Hai River reduces by 10%; the organic pollution becomes more serious due to the little run-off in Huai River; the water quality in the Yellow River has been improved a little; the water quality in the Pearl River decreased a little bit and the water quality in the Yangtze, Songhua River and Liao River does not change too much.
Large-Sized Fresh Water Lakes
Tai Lake Basin The whole Lake is at medium eutrophication. Among the 101 water quality monitoring sites, the sections of Level water quality and worse than Level V account for 65.4% and the sections with Level II to IV water quality only account for 34.6%. The major pollution indicators are total phosphorus, total nitrogen and permanganate index.
Dianchi Lake Basin Eutrophication is still rather serious. All the 13 water quality monitoring sites are worse than Level V. The nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is rather serious. As to the indicators of permanganate index and COD, the water quality reaches Level IV and V respectively.
Chao Lake Basin After the industrial pollution sources met the discharge standards in 1999, the eutrophication state index decreases to certain extent. However, it is still in eutrophication state. Among the 11 water quality monitoring sites in the lake, seven of them are at Level V and worse than Level V. The main pollution indicators are total phosphorus and total nitrogen.
Other Large-sized Fresh Water Lakes The water quality in Erhai Lake is fairly good. The water quality in Bositeng Lake, Jingpo Lake, Songhua Lake and Xingkai Lake is good. The water quality in Dongting Lake and Hongze Lake is rather bad and the pollution in Baiyangdian Lake is rather serious.
Large-Sized Reservoir
Among the nine reservoirs of Miyun in Beijing, Dahuofang in Liaonin, Yuqiao in Tianjin, Danjiangkou in Hubei, Dongpu in Hefei, Laoshan in Qingdao, Menlou in Yantai, Shimen in Hanzhong and Xinanjiang in Hangzhou, the water quality in Yuqiao, Dongpu and Laoshan Reservoirs are at Level III and the water quality in the other six ones are at Level II. The water quality in the large-sized reservoirs are good on the whole. Xinanjiang, Danjiangkou and Miyun Reservoirs are in the oligotrophication state and the other six reservoirs are at the mesotrophication state.
The sequence of the comparative pollution extent from the most seriously polluted one to the least polluted one of the nine large-sized reservoirs is: Dongpu, Yuqiao, Laoshan, Shimen, Menlou, Dahuofang, Miyun, Xinanjiang and Danjiangkou. Compared with the previous year, the water quality in the large-sized reservoirs does not change too much.
Ground Water
The distribution of ground water resources in China is not well balanced in China. In the south, there are rich water resources while in the north, it is short of water resources. In some places, too much ground water has been explored and the water level has kept on decreasing which has resulted in environmental geological problems such as the earth subsidence, cracks and sea water invasion as well as lone of depression in ground water level. In 1999, due to little rain precipitation, the urban ground water level in Beijing, Shandong, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) mainly dropped. The ground water level in Jilin Province, Shanghai, Zhejiang Province and Sichuan Province mainly raised. There were both increase and drop as to the ground water level in Shaangxi, Gansu, Jaingsu and Tibet. The ground water in most of the cities was polluted by point and non-point sources. Part of the indicators in some places surpassed the standards. The major pollution indicators are mineralization degree, total hardness, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia nitrogen, iron and manganese, chloride, sulfate and pH value. The ground water pollution is becoming worse year by year.
Discharge Amount of Waste Water and Main Pollutants
In 1999, the total discharge amount of the industrial and urban sewage in the whole country was 40.1 billion tons, with 600 million tons over the previous year. The industrial waste water amount was 19.7 billion tons, with 400 million tons less than the previous year. The domestic sewage discharge amount was 20.4 billion tons, with 1 billion tons over the previous years. It is the first time the domestic sewage discharge amount surpassed the industrial waste water discharge. The total discharge amount of COD in the waste water was 13.89 million tons, among which COD in the industrial waste water was 6.92 million tons and COD in domestic sewage was 6.97 million tons.
(100 million T)
(10 thousand T)In 1999, the rate of the industrial waste water treatment (including industrial and key township and village enterprise pollution sources at county level and over county level) was 87.2%, remaining the same as in the previous year. The attainment rate of industrial waste water discharge was 66.7%, with 1.4% higher than that in the previous year. The industrial waste water treatment rate and attainment discharge rate was 91.1% and 72.1% at county level and over county level respectively, with 2.9% and 5.1% over the previous year.
Water Pollution Prevention Program of Hai River Basin and Water Pollution Prevention of Liao River Basin have been put into implementation. Inventory of the key pollution sources in the above-mentioned two river basins have been published in the media so as to enhance the supervision of the public opinion. In Hai River Basin, 811 enterprises of the 1591 key pollution sources have finished the treatment tasks, 149 enterprises are waiting for inspection and acceptance. The pollution treatment facilities in 235 enterprises are in construction. Ninety-eight enterprises have not yet taken action. Two hundred and ninety eight enterprises have stopped production. In Liao River Basin, 394 enterprises of the 707 key pollution sources have finished the treatment tasks and 14 of them are waiting for inspection and acceptance. The pollution treatment facilities in 92 enterprises are in construction. One hundred and twenty six enterprises have not yet taken any action and eighty-one enterprises have stopped production.
Attainment Discharge in Dianchi Lake Basin In order to guarantee the success of Kunmin Expo 99', the Water Pollution Prevention Program of Dianchi Lake Basin of the State Council set up the stage treatment target that before May 1 1999, all key pollution sources should meet the discharge standards and the scenery in Dianchi Lake should be improved significantly. By the end of April 1999, 142 enterprises of the 144 key pollution sources with over one hundred tons daily discharge of waste water completed the treatment tasks and another two had been ordered to stop production for treatment, thus meeting the requirement of the Program. The first phase of the sediment dredging of Caohai Lake in Dianchi Lake had been finished and an area of 2.88 km2 was been dredged. The total sediment being dredged hit 4.24 million m3. In the river basin, four urban sewage treatment plants had been constructed, with the capacity of 365,000 tons/d.
Attainment Discharge of Pollution sources in Chao Lake Basin By the end of 1999, among the 109 key pollution sources with over 100 daily waste water discharge in the whole lake basin, 90 of them attained the treatment standards, 18 enterprises were bankrupt, changed the production or were removed and one enterprises had tested the pollution treatment facilities. The attainment rate was 99%.
Yangtze River: The area of the river is 1.809 million km2, with a length of 6300 km and annual run-off of 951.3 billion m3. The head source of river is Tuotuo River. The main branches include Wujiang River, Yalong River, Mingjiang River, Jialing River, Hanshui River, Yuan River, Xiangjiang River and Ganjiang River. The total population in the river basin in 1993 was 402.53 million, accounting for 34.3% of the population in the whole country. It is expected that the urbanization in the year 2000 is 29%. The GDP in 1993 was 882.6 billion yuan, accounting for 32.7% of the entire country, among which the total industrial production was 1708.9 billion yuan and it is expected that the GDP will hit 1617 billion yuan. The total industrial production will be 4369.3 billion yuan.
China Kunming Expo 99
The World Expo was convened in London Great Britain in 1985. By 1999, the World Expo has experienced a history of 148 years.
In 1993, in the name of Agriculture Association of China Trade Promotion Chamber and China Association of Flowers, China applied to the International Association of Gardeners for participating in the organization. In the meantime, China also put forth the application of convening Kuming Expo in 1999. In October 1994, the 46th Meeting of Members of the International Association of Gardeners passed decision to accept China as member of the Association. The meeting reported to the International Exhibition Council for ratification and registration that the World Expo will be convened in China in 1999. At the 48th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Gardeners convened in Budapest, Hungary on 16 September 1996, it is agreed that World Expo 99 will be convened in Kunming China. In 1999, China convened Kunming Expo 99.
Kunming Expo 99 was convened from May 1, 1999 to October 31, with 184 days altogether. In less than three years, the World Expo Garden was finished, covering an area of 218 hectares with comprehensive facilities, which is a miracle of A1 level World Expo Exhibition Halls. Secondly, it has Chinese characteristics and reaches the world level, which not only collects the rare plants, unique flowers and gardens from lots of countries and areas. It also shows to the whole world Chinese gardening culture of long history. Thirdly, by fruitful publicity and calls for exhibition, there are 95 countries and international organizations participating in the World Expo, far over the original target. The number of tourists hit 9.4 million, attaining the target of the Preparatory Committee. Fourthly, it shows to the world that Chinese government pays respect and attention to the nature, environmental protection and the balance of ecological and follows the basic state policy of sustainable economic and social development. Fifthly, with careful thinking and organization, activities of various kinds were held successfully during the World Expo. Sixthly, it enhanced the mutual understanding of the people in the world, and promoted the exchange and cooperation as well as the economic development in the whole country.
