Director Li Wei: Bishui Underground WWTP gives people a greater sense of happiness

       On August 4, an inspection team led by Li Wei, Director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, and Cui Xinjian, Deputy Secretary-General and Research Office Director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, visited CWEG Tongzhou Bishui Underground WWTP (Bishui Underground WWTP) to investigate its progress in water environment governance.
       Director Li Wei visited the workshops, “13th Five-Year” Water Pollution Control and Treatment Technology Major Project Implementation Platform, Intelligent Operation Center, etc., and asked for details in the renovation background, technological innovation, and ecological improvement results of the WWTP. He also checked influent and effluent quality and thought highly of the use of high-quality reclaimed water.
      According to Fang Yajun, Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Tongzhou District, before renovation, Bishui WWTP faced heavy public complaints about its noise and odor. To solve this problem, the local government joined hands with CWEG to move the WWTP underground. The change has addressed noise and odor, and greatly improved surrounding environment. Public opposition has been replaced by praise and support. Director Li Wei recognized the business model and technological innovation of the WWTP, calling it an excellent solution to NIMBY syndrome.
      CWEG Chairman Hou Feng told Director Li Wei that underground WWTPs can turn wastewater into sustainable resource, providing public products as many as possible to promote people’s quality of life and high-quality urban development. Li said that underground WWTPs provide an innovative and science-based environmental solution which gives people a greater sense of happiness.
      Bishui Underground WWTP sets a typical example of China’s independently developed technologies surpassing and replacing American ones. As a National Demonstration Base for the Application of “13th Five-Year” Water Research Findings selected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and a science education base, the WWTP creatively expands into an urban ecological complex, and has overturned the conventional planning and construction models of WWTPs. Therefore, Bishui WWTP is of great importance for the water environmental protection of Beijing Municipal Administrative Center.
      In January 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the National Catalog of Cutting-edge Pollution Control Technologies (Water Pollution Prevention and Treatment) . Of the 26 technologies in the catalog, two are provided by CWEG. Bishui Underground WWTP is included in the catalog as a typical application case.
      Officials such as Ma Shuguang, Director of the Liaison Office of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, Li Wen, Deputy Director of the General Office of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, Li Yujun, Director of the Tongzhou District People’s Congress, and Fang Yajun, Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Tongzhou District, participated in the inspection. CWEG Chairman Houfeng, CWEG Vice Presidents Fang Yong and Zhang Lujing,  as well as General Manager Li Tao and Deputy General Manager Shi Naibiao of CWEG Beijing Subsidiary accompanied the inspection team.