Wuhan to Fully Withdraw Pearl Farming from Lakes; Water Treatment Passes National Assessment
As one of the 10 pilot cities nationwide for water ecosystem protection and restoration, Wuhan was the first to "face the assessment." Yesterday, after a two-day on-site inspection, Wuhan successfully passed the national acceptance check.
In October 2005, the Ministry of Water Resources approved the launch of a water ecosystem protection and restoration pilot program in Wuhan.
According to the Wuhan Water Affairs Bureau, during the pilot period, Wuhan issued relevant implementation plans and invested a total of 8.9 billion yuan in water ecological environment treatment projects, including six major projects: the "Clean Water into Lakes" project; the water network construction project; sewage treatment facility construction; comprehensive improvement of riverbank channels; soil and water conservation; and wetland protection.
At present, lakes in the city's central urban area have basically achieved sewage interception, with more than 500,000 tons of sewage per day no longer entering the lakes. The "Six Lakes Connectivity" water network in Hanyang has basically taken shape, and the outline of the "Great East Lake" ecological water network plan is beginning to emerge. At present, Wuhan has cut off 224 lake sewage outlets, and 29 lakes have achieved sewage interception. By the end of this year, the city aims to achieve full sewage interception for 40 lakes in the central urban area. Over the past 4 years, the city has built and put into operation 10 sewage treatment plants, raising the centralized sewage treatment rate to 80.73%. At present, Wuhan has built a 33-kilometer-long waterfront riverbank with an area of more than 3 million sq m. The riverbank and the Xiajiasi Reservoir have also been rated as national-level water conservancy scenic areas.
Wuhan Withdraws from Pearl Farming
After successfully passing the national water ecosystem protection and restoration acceptance check yesterday, the water affairs department stated that next year it will invest 3.3 billion yuan to continue implementing comprehensive water ecological environment treatment.
In addition, Wuhan has invested 87.5 million yuan to completely dismantle all pearl farming within the city's waters, making it the first city in the country to withdraw from pearl farming. Within the Third Ring Road, lake cage farming and livestock and poultry farming have been fully withdrawn, and except for Hongshan District, all farming around lakes in the central urban area has been withdrawn.