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Firms Ordered to Curb, Stop Operation to Prevent Pollution Disaster
The State Administration of Environmental Protection (SAEP) ordered Wednesday 100 polluting firms in east and central China to curb or stop production to prevent contamination of drinking water and other environmental disasters along the Huaihe River.
In an emergency circular, the SAEP ordered the polluting firms, which are up to the State pollutant discharge requirements, to reduce discharge of waste water by cutting or stopping production.
The move was taken to prevent a possible environmental disaster in Anhui Province through which the river runs, as 144 million cubic meters of black polluted water stored in the upper reaches of the river is being pushed downstream by flood water.
The polluted water stored upstream is industrial waste water and domestic sewage and farming waster water discharged by plants or urban and rural residents along the river.
Environmental officials warned the polluted water may affect the supply of drinking water in Huainan and Bangbu cities in Anhui Province, aquatic farming and rice production on the middle and lower reaches of the river.
Tap water plants in the two cities use the river water for drinking water production.
Officials in Henan, Shandong and Anhui provinces along the river said 48 polluting paper making, leather processing and wine plants have ceased operation as required and waste water treatment plants have been operating at full capacity.
The Huaihe River, one of the longest in China, originates in central China's Henan Province and runs through the provinces of Anhui, Shandong and Jiangsu before emptying into Lake Hongze.
More than 100 million people live in the Huaihe River valleys.
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