CHONGQING, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The quality of water in the Three Gorges Reservoir has remained unchanged since the natural flow of water in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River was stopped on June 10, 2003 to make way for further construction of the Three Gorges water control project, the biggest of its kind in the world,said a report released by the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection on Wednesday.
The report said based on repeated measurements of the quality of water in the Three Gorges Reservoir had been stabilized between Category II and Category III -- the standards for surface water --for two years, which is almost the same as during natural flow at the Three Gorges.
At present, the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir has risen to 139 meters, a rise of 60 meters from when the Yangtze River ran its natural course through the Three Gorges region.
Great efforts have been taken to prevent water pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir at various levels.
China will spend 40 billion yuan (about 4.82 billion US dollars)from state coffers in financing projects devoted to preventing water pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir and the upper reaches of the Yangtze in ten years from 2001 on.
By the end of 2010, over 100 sewage treatment plants and some 200 centers for trash disposal will have been completed and put into service.
Monitoring and research on protection of biodiversity, environment, and silting in the reservoir has been stepped up, along with the establishment of a group of nature reserves on land or in the water around the reservoir.
Chongqing, which sits on the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir, has intensified the efforts to harness the sources of pollution in the city so that the Three Gorges Reservoir won't be turned into "a pond of manure" in years ahead. So far, the city has completed and put into use 23 sewage treatment plants and 16 trash disposal centers.
By the end of this year, the city's investment in pollution harnessing projects will reach 9.8 billion yuan (about 1.18 billion US dollars), said an official from the environmental bureau.
In the meantime, the city has also built an on-line system to monitor sources of pollution with money from Japanese loans, state treasury bonds and funds allotted for pollution harnessing purposes.
Up to now, 75 waste water and gas discharging outlets with 23 industrial enterprises and 25 sewage treatment plants in the Three Gorges Reservoir area are monitored on-line.
When all planned sewage treatment plants and trash disposal centers are completed and put into use by 2010, over 60 percent of the sewage and 70 percent of the trash in the city will be treated,said the local environmental official.
Source: Xinhuanet
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