Ministry of Ecology and Environment | Promoting the Implementation of Major Ecological and Environmental Projects 10: Implementing the Nanming River Governance Project to Consolidate the Comprehensive Improvement of Karst Regions in Guiyang

Recently, China Water Environment Group's comprehensive management of the Nanming River Basin was selected as a typical case with demonstrative significance for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to promote the implementation of major ecological and environmental projects. The implementation of major projects in the field of ecological environment is a powerful means to promote the implementation of the goals of the "14th Five Year Plan" for ecological environment protection and continuously improve the quality of the ecological environment. Starting from 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has organized local governments to recommend a number of exemplary typical cases. The Nanming River project has achieved significant governance practices from "worrying about water" to "optimizing water", and has promoted the experience of comprehensive basin improvement in karst areas to the whole country.

Nanming River is the "mother river" of Guiyang City, Guizhou Province. It is a tributary of the Wujiang River in the Yangtze River system and an important ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The 2017 Central Environmental Protection Inspection, the 2018 Central Ecological Environmental Protection Inspection, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt Ecological Environment Warning Film all pointed out that the direct discharge of domestic sewage overflow in Guiyang City has caused serious pollution of the Nanming River. The Guiyang Municipal Party Committee and Government attach great importance to and fully promote the major project of Nanming River governance, using engineering to promote rectification, and creating the Guiyang experience of comprehensive basin improvement in karst areas.

Systematically implementing the major project of pollution control in the Nanming River Basin

Enhance the sewage treatment capacity of urban areas. Since 2017, the Guiyang Municipal Government has invested 7.591 billion yuan and introduced 11.6 billion yuan in social capital to build 20 new recycled sewage treatment plants along the main urban section of the Nanming River. The sewage treatment capacity in the central urban area has increased from 990000 tons/day to 1.83 million tons/day. At the same time, using the qualified tail water as ecological landscape water to replenish the Nanming River effectively enhances its self purification capacity.

Carry out governance of the main and tributary systems. Implement synchronous treatment of the main and tributaries of the Nanming River, accelerate the filling of the shortcomings in the urban sewage collection pipeline network, and open up the "main artery" of sewage collection and transportation. In combination with the treatment of urban "black and odorous water bodies", 65 kilometers of sewage pipelines will be newly built, 263 discharge outlets will be renovated, and 19 drainage ditches in the central urban area will be comprehensively renovated to completely eliminate 25 black and odorous water bodies in the Nanming River Basin.

Implement refined environmental protection and control measures. We will deepen the integration of big data and environmental protection, build 14 automatic monitoring stations for water quality in the Nanming River, and comprehensively establish an online monitoring system for sewage treatment plants in the Nanming River basin. We will use technologies such as big data, remote sensing, and drones to implement precise supervision of the river. From 2017 to 2022, more than 800 special law enforcement actions were organized, and more than 3680 law enforcement personnel were dispatched. A total of 107 illegal acts were investigated and punished, with a fine of 8.099 million yuan.

The implementation of major projects drives the improvement of the ecological environment of Nanming River

The quality of water environment is on the rise. From 2017 to 2022, the water quality in the central urban area of Nanming River reached stable level IV or above, and some areas reached level III or above. The permanganate index of the Mairang national control section decreased from 4.13 mg/L to 2.77 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen decreased from 1.84 mg/L to 0.32 mg/L, total phosphorus decreased from 0.34 mg/L to 0.17 mg/L, and the water quality of the section reached excellent level for the first time.

Water ecological protection is truly dynamic. Before the control, only widely adaptable fish such as mantis and carp were found in heavily polluted river sections. After management, the number of fish species recovered to 22, and 49 species of benthic animals, 140 species of wetland plants, and 163 species of algae were found. Various unique aquatic organisms from Guizhou have reappeared in the Nanming River.

Striving for breakthroughs in water environment management. Introduce the "Management Measures for the Protection of Nanming River in Guiyang City", establish a long-term mechanism for ecological protection of Nanming River, and optimize the allocation of water resources management. The Measures for Assessment and Rewards and Punishments of the Nanming River Basin Section have been issued and implemented. As of 2022, a total of 39.5138 million yuan of ecological compensation funds have been collected and returned for the management of the Nanming River.

Water ecological culture seeks improvement. By combining human history, ethnic customs, and popular science education, we will focus on enhancing the ecological and cultural taste of the Nanming River, creating riverside scenery represented by wetland parks, urban landscapes represented by city squares in the central section of the city, and village landscapes represented by upstream towns and villages, forming a number of ecological and cultural education facilities such as water environment science popularization halls, ecological science popularization halls, and riverside cultural walls.

The Nanming River after governance

Experience of Guiyang in Promoting the Governance of the Nanming River Basin through Major Projects

Based on mechanism innovation, promote the implementation of major projects. The Municipal Party Committee and Government regard the governance of the Nanming River as a systematic project, establish the Nanming River Environmental Comprehensive Improvement Command, formulate the principles of "government leadership, mechanism innovation, legal governance, scientific and technological support, public participation, and long-term governance", and promote the implementation of the major project of Nanming River governance.

Introduce social capital to promote the implementation of major projects. Through project planning and packaging, we introduced 11.6 billion yuan of social capital, fully leveraging the advanced technology and management advantages of social capital, and fully participating in the governance of the Nanming River and subsequent cleaning and maintenance.

Explore new technologies to support the implementation of major projects. Propose the governance concept of "moderate concentration, on-site treatment, and nearby reuse", form a "distributed sinking regenerated water ecosystem" technology system, and solve the problem of land use for sewage treatment facilities construction in mountainous cities.