(June 25, 2013) The Danjiangkou Reservoir, a major supply source for China’s high-cost South-North Water Diversion project — slated to provide Beijing with water by 2014 — is heavily polluted with untreated sewage. Lax enforcement of environmental laws and a shortage of funds are making the situation worse, says the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. A deeper problem is the absence of legislation governing water sources, China Daily reports. 

(China Daily)

June 22, 2013

Part of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, a major water source of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, is heavily polluted and needs urgent treatment, according to a report by the country’s top advisory body.

Lax enforcement of environmental laws and a shortage of funds are making the situation worse, said an investigation report by the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference released on Wednesday.

Water from the reservoir, located in central China, is expected to be sent directly to Beijing for drinking and other everyday uses in 2014.

Though the local government pledged to guarantee water quality, serious pollution persists — untreated urban sewage and waste directly flow into the water, the report said.

Seven rivers — two in Henan province and five in Hubei — that flow into the reservoir are still on the heavy pollution list.

This story continues in full at the publisher’s website.

For more on China’s South-North Water Diversion Project, see the Probe International archive here.

For more on the Danjiangkou Reservoir, see the Probe International archive here.