In terms of surface water environmental quality in all counties (cities and districts) of the province, Nanjing takes the top three places

Recently, the provincial Department of Ecology and Environment announced the surface water environmental quality ranking of 63 counties (cities and districts) from January to December last year. Among the top 10 districts and counties, all 5 districts listed in Nanjing were selected, among which Liuhe District, Pukou District and Jiangning District ranked the top 3 in the province.

Behind the remarkable achievements, Nanjing has been promoting the comprehensive improvement of water environment for a long time with the attitude of extreme attention and unprecedented efforts. With the rapid development of a mega-city, city and water, people and water are moving towards a harmonious coexistence.

Take the lead in eliminating the city "stink ditch" in the province

"The black and stinky river at my doorstep has turned into a real 'river of happiness'!" On the evening of the 20th, Mr. Sheng, a resident of Chengkai Yijia Community living in Nanyuan Street, Nanjing, was walking along the Happy River.

"The river is clear and the banks are beautiful!" On the morning of the 21st, the reporter saw in the Xiangshan section of Chengnan River in Pukou District that the banks were surrounded by green trees. Many residents took a walk on the square along the river bank. The clear water and green bank won praise from many nearby residents.

The feeling of residents and the ranking of data are consistent -- Nanjing's water environment continues to improve. Ju Xiaoqiu, deputy director of the Water Ecological Environment Department of Nanjing Ecological Environment Bureau, introduced that the provincial Department of Ecological environment carried out the ranking of surface water environmental quality of 63 counties (cities and districts) that were included in the high-quality development assessment of the province. The ranking situation was reported to local governments monthly, and the ranking results were disclosed to the public quarterly. The ranking is based on the comprehensive index of pollution rather than a single index, which can better reflect the regional water environment quality.

Industrial and agricultural rivers, ponds, Crescent Lake, Zhujia River...... In Nanjing, a large number of black and smelly rivers have become clear canals, and the clear and smooth water flow is becoming the personal experience of more and more Nanjing people.

A set of data can prove the change of water environment in Nanjing. In 2014, among the 22 sections with provincial control and above, the proportion of water reaching or better than Class III was only 45.5\%. At that time, the optimal III ratio of many prefectural cities in Nanjing was more than 60\%. In sharp contrast, the proportion of excellent water quality III among 22 national and provincial examination sections in Nanjing has reached 100\% last year.

Nanjing's water control won many provincial first. From 2016 to 2017, Nanjing completed the rectification of 150 black and smelly water bodies in urban built-up areas, taking the lead in the province to basically eliminate black and smelly water bodies in built-up areas. In 2018, all the seven provincial tributaries of Nanjing reached the provincial goal of high-quality development, and the comprehensive score of annual assessment of water pollution control work ranked first in the province. Last year, Nanjing's water environment reached the best level in the past year, and bad Class V water bodies were basically eliminated in the built-up areas of the city.

Municipal Party Secretary investigated "One River" 15 times

Compared with cities of the same level, Nanjing is more difficult to control the water. On the one hand, Nanjing has developed water system, with water area accounting for 11.4\% of the city; On the other hand, large cities have dense population, high pollution load and limited environmental capacity, so it is difficult to establish a virtuous ecological cycle by self-purification of urban river courses alone.

Nanjing firmly set the target, iron fist attack, city leadership coordination. In June 2018, the Municipal Party Committee of Nanjing established a system of provincial responsibility for linking tributaries into the Yangtze River. The main leaders of the four sets of groups each claimed a sub-grade V tributary into the Yangtze River. The Jinchuan River, which is the most difficult to control, was claimed by the Municipal Party secretary. As of February this year, the main leaders of Nanjing have carried out nearly 70 special operations on the water environment, among which Zhang Jinghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Nanjing, has investigated the Jinchuan River for 15 consecutive times.

District, street town Party and government leader is the first responsible person for river management. More than 2,700 important water bodies in Nanjing are all under the management of the river chief system, and 3,011 Party and government cadres serve as river chiefs at the municipal, district, town, street and village levels, with the party and government leaders serving as the general river chiefs in each district and park, and the district leaders serving as the heads of important river courses. The whole city has formed a huge joint force of resolutely hitting the water quality standards.

"The problem is in the water, the root is on the shore. Nanjing adheres to the combination of water control and city control, symptom control and root control, river control and pollution control." The relevant person in charge of Nanjing Water Environment Promotion Office said that in order to improve sewage treatment capacity, Nanjing has built 480km of main and secondary sewage pipe network in recent years, and completed upgrading of key sewage treatment plants in Jiangxinzhou, Chengbei and other cities; Last year, we carried out the inspection and inspection of 1,400 kilometers of the six major sewage systems in the main city, of which the northern part of the city has been basically completed.

We will take the most stringent economic measures to promote the sustainable improvement of the water environment. In 2014, our province began to implement the regional compensation system for water environment. In 2018, Nanjing raised the compensation standard to twice that of the province. Ju Xiaoqiu said, the river is not good to "pay money", some areas for a river was fined tens of millions of yuan. Since last year, Nanjing has included all 28 branches of the river into the scope of regional compensation.

Work hard where you can't see

"To win the battle against clear waters, we must treat both the visible rivers and the hidden culverts we cannot see." Nanjing Water Bureau water environment Department deputy director Zhang Xiaofeng said.

In the process of urban development, many rivers in Nanjing have been covered and buried, becoming hidden rivers. According to incomplete statistics, more than 20 urban rivers have disappeared in Nanjing in 10 years.

"The covered culvert contains dirt and dirt, which directly affects the water quality of the Ming River." Nanjing Water Environment promotion office related person said, hidden culverts are deep underground, it is difficult to find problems, many of them are sewage channels, it is very difficult to reform. Nanjing is piloting the source control and pollution control of some hidden culverts, among which the hidden culvert of the Southern Yudai Reach has been approved, and the hidden culvert of the southern ten Li Changgou section will be opened as far as possible in combination with road construction.

The problem of water control caused by hidden culverts makes people rethink. Experts admit that while trying to pay off old debts, the city needs to balance its rapid development with the protection of rivers and lakes. In the process of urban construction, underground drainage networks that cannot be seen should be protected, and space should be reserved at the beginning of planning.

"Water control is not only a decisive battle, but also a protracted and comprehensive battle. To achieve fresh water and clear flow, we must think systematically and adopt comprehensive policies." Zhang said that Nanjing has made some achievements in the water environment improvement, but against the requirements of high-quality development, against the expectations of citizens for a better living environment, there are still many problems, such as insufficient sewage treatment capacity, non-point source pollution into the river in rainy days, overflow drainage in the river interception ditch, rain pollution pipe network is not perfect, modern information supervision level is not high.

For a long time, Nanjing water control and set a new goal. By the end of 2020, the city will eliminate black and smelly river channels and basically eliminate bad Class V water bodies; The cumulative completion rate of black and odorous water in urban built-up areas reached 100 %, the quality of water in 28 provincial-level and city-controlled sections into tributaries of the river was eliminated from the inferior Class V, and the quality of water in 22 surface water sections at or above the provincial level met the provincial target.

Article source: Nanjing Morning Post