China Environment News | Mountain and River Journey • Approaching the Tuojiang River

On the banks of the Fuxi River, a tributary of the Tuojiang River, the beauties dance gracefully in the morning light. The Fuxi River runs through the central urban area of Zigong, carrying the industrial ideal of a thousand year old salt city, and is closely related to the development of Zigong, an old industrial city, resonating with the same frequency.

Citizens dancing by the banks of the Fuxi River. Ren Jing/Photo

Previously, the rapid development of industry and agriculture led to a large amount of sewage being directly discharged into the river, causing the Fuxi River to sink into a Class V mud pit, and the stinky water river became synonymous with it. In order to change this situation, the Zigong Municipal Party Committee and Government attach great importance to the protection of the water environment in the Tuojiang River Basin, and regard the comprehensive management of the Tuojiang River and Fuxi River Basin as an important task to win the battle for environmental protection. Through the joint governance of the three rivers and transformation and upgrading, Zigong has been promoted from "Yancheng" to "Yancheng".

Nowadays, the river water is gradually becoming clearer, and Zigong is also slowly shedding its label as an old industrial city.

Wastewater cannot flow into the river, but water control measures are effective

In the afternoon of Shishi Town, the sound of people was bustling, and the collision of mahjong tiles drifted out from the windows along the river. Previously, we didn't want our windows to face the river because it smelled too bad, "said a villager who leaned out half of his body through the window." In recent years, the river water has become much cleaner, so we opened windows on the side along the river

A bungalow built along the river. Ren Jing/Photo

The river in the mouths of residents is the main stream of the Tuojiang River (Shishi Town section), which receives water from the upstream Fuxi River. Along the river, there used to be dense sand and gravel fields, and production and domestic sewage were directly discharged into the river, causing serious pollution.

To solve this problem, Shishi Town has built a domestic sewage treatment station and constructed and renovated a sewage collection pipeline network of 2.5 kilometers, achieving full collection of sewage in the town and ensuring stable and compliant discharge of sewage.

Previously, the foundation of sewage treatment in Zigong was weak and the treatment capacity was weak, "said Yang Xuejun, Director of the Zigong Ecological Environment Bureau. To this end, Zigong City actively promotes the renovation and upgrading of urban sewage pipe networks, building 58 new urban sewage treatment plants and equipping them with corresponding regulating and storage facilities, achieving the "peak shaving and valley filling" of sewage interception pipe networks. The centralized collection and treatment rates of sewage in central urban areas, county towns, and administrative towns have reached 96.6%, 94%, and 87%, respectively.

While intercepting and controlling pollution, Zigong is also considering how to enhance residents' sense of happiness. Taking the Eastern Sewage Treatment Plant of China Water Environment Group in the High tech Zone as an example, it is the first fully enclosed underground sewage treatment plant in Zigong City, with a wetland park on the ground. The reason for adopting the underground construction method is twofold: on the one hand, it aims to reduce the impact of noise and odors on nearby residents, and on the other hand, it can improve land utilization and provide residents with a place for leisure and entertainment, "Tu Qiang, General Manager of China Water Environment Group Zigong Company, told reporters.

In addition, Zigong actively carries out ecological restoration, constructing the Fuxi River composite greenway and Shuangfeng Wetland Park, and planting more than 360 kilometers of greenery in the Fuxi River basin. A "one river, two rivers" ecological corridor covering 12000 acres has been built to provide greenery along the riverbank.