UN Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador Li Bingbing: Witness the Purest Water in Dali

  "Green mountain is inkless painting standing timelessly. Jade water is stringless zither playing endlessly." With the 5th Conference of the Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity(COP15) held in Kunming, the Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake once again drew attention from the world. A few days ago, the 2nd episode of theCloud·Logsprogramme, which is the Season 2 ofTo You, My New Name Card, co-produced by Tik Tok and Hunan Satellite TV was officially aired. Li Bingbing, the UN Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassador, visited the Xizhou Underground Water Reclamation Plant of Dali Project of China Water Environment Group (CWEG), to satiate her curiosity about Dali. By testing 3 water samples, i.e. domestic water, Erhai Lake water and water from the water plant, she had first-hand experience about the achievements of water quality improvement of Erhai Lake.

As a model city in water improvement in the country, Dali has implemented improvement and protection of Erhai Lake under the guidance of Xi Jinping's principles regarding ecological civilization. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the government and people of Dali and the CWEG, the quality of the aquatic ecological environment of Erhai Lake has been improving continuously. Li Bingbing and her colleagues were assigned a task as Erhai Lake protection volunteers: collect water samples from three different locations around Erhai Lake and analyze water quality by comparison.

Li Bingbing and her colleagues collected water samples from domestic water at Tie-Dye Museum and from Erhai Lake. Then they came to the Xizhou Underground Water Reclamation Plant of CWEG, took samples from the output water and conducted testing and comparison of water quality.

Tour at the Water Plant

Led by Li Yulan, leader of the water quality test team, professional tests were conducted. To the surprise of everyone, the sample with the highest quality was actually from Erhai Lake. This is the outcome of the joint efforts of people in protecting the ecological environment of Dali. The quality of the output water from the water reclamation plant was slightly better than the water of Erhai Lake. The high-quality reclaimed water will enter into the ecological water tank for further purification. A part of the water will meet the Class Ⅲ standard for surface water, and will be used for agricultural irrigation. The wastes discharged into Erhai Lake have been reduced by 2,000t per year.

As of November 2021, the water quality of Erhai Lake had met Class Ⅱ standard for 7 consecutive months. Its overall water quality stays above Class Ⅲ. Ottelia acuminata, which is a good indicator of water quality in Erhai Lake, flourished again.

Result of water samples testing and comparison

After the water quality tests, three people including Li Bingbing were officially conferred the title "Guardian of Erhai". They all expressed the hope that more people will protect Erhai Lake like protecting their eyes. At Erhai Lake, CWEG has 5 other underground water reclamation plants like this one, and every employee there is titled "Guardian of Erhai". With their expertise and enthusiasm, they strive to make sure no waste water goes into the "mother lake".