Guizhou Daily | Innovative river basin management model! Distributed sunken reclaimed water ecosystem makes the Nanming River clean again

At the news briefing of the Eco Forum Global Guiyang, 2023 held on the morning of July 4, An Shouhai, member of the Party and Deputy Director of Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Department, introduced the relevant achievements of Guizhou distributed sunken reclaimed water ecosystem.

An Shouhai said that river basin management has always been a worldwide issue and an extremely complex systematic project, and that river basin water security is an important foundation for the country's ecological security. Therefore, ensuring water security and protecting water ecology in the river basin is one of the key tasks in promoting ecological civilization construction in China. Currently, various regions of the country, including Guizhou, are taking proactive actions in exploring and practicing low-carbon river basin construction.

Taking the Nanming River harnessing in Guiyang as an example, the Nanming River is the right tributary of the upper stream of the Wujiang River, and Wujiang River is the largest tributary on the right bank of the upper stream of the Yangtze River. Thus, the quality of Nanming River's ecological environment is an important factor that will affect the water quality of Wujiang River and its section into the Yangtze River.

Throughout the years, the Nanming River has gone through a challenging period, initially facing concerns about water quality and now experiencing a notable improvement in its water conditions. To address the pollution issue comprehensively, the Command Department of the Nanming River Water Environment Comprehensive Improvement was established. This initiative, centered on methodological and technological innovation, treated the enhancement of the Nanming River environment as a systematic project. It adhered to principles such as "government-led, mechanism innovation, governance by law, scientific and technological support, complete public engagement, and long-term clean-up." This marked a departure from the previous approach of addressing issues only when they surfaced, opting instead to tackle both the symptoms and root causes of the problems.

According to reports, Guizhou Province has pioneered a new approach in water governance, introducing the concept of "moderate concentration, local treatment, and nearby reuse" in system planning and governance. This innovative strategy is tailored to the characteristics of urban sewage, water function zoning, and resource utilization. Guizhou has successfully developed a groundbreaking technical system known as the "distributed sunken reclaimed water ecosystem" for large-scale urban sewage treatment and resource utilization. Following the principle of "unified planning and step-by-step implementation," the province has constructed 33 reclaimed water plants along the main tributaries of the Nanming River and undertaken ecological restoration along 185 kilometers of river courses.

After treatment, the water quality of the Nanming River has stably reached Class IV for surface water standards throughout the year and for 11 months in 2022, it has reached Class III standards. For a decade, the river course has not been dredged, with the coverage rate of submerged plants reaching 80%. Its ecological water supply has amounted to 500 million tons per year, cutting the cost of natural water resources and water transfer and establishing a sustainable and healthy ecological system for the river course.

So far, the innovative water treatment practices in the Nanming River have been promoted and applied in 22 provinces across the country. This technology system is the only technology applied in the green new infrastructure and water treatment recommended by the five ministries including the NDRC, the Ministry of Science and Technology, etc. It has also been awarded the honor of a demonstration project of black and odorous water treatment for the "Mother River" by the three national ministries and commissions, providing a comprehensive solution for water environment treatment in river basins.