Polluted River Water Becomes Clear AgainThe Suzhou River, flowing through China's largest industrial and commercial center Shanghai, now has clearer water after citizens having seen dirty water for 80 years.The formerly black and smelly river water has turned grey or greyish yellow in color. People residing nearby no longer have to tolerate offensive smells emitted from the previously heavy polluted river. "It proves that the 20-year pollution control program has paid off," an environmental expert said. In its good days, the river was abundant with palatable fish. Fresh, clean water flowed until the 1910s, when a waterworks was built by the river to supply tap water to millions of Shanghai people. As Shanghai rose to become China's largest industrial center, the river suffered more andmore pollution. From 1920 on, the river began to smell and turned a blackish color, causing the extinction of fish and shrimps. Until 1978, the whole reach of the Suzhou River in Shanghai was thoroughly polluted. A decade later, the Shanghai Municipal Government started a clean-up project to restore the river. A total of 8.7 billion yuan (1 billion US dollars) was spent completing the first stage of work on the project. Since last May, fresh water from other sources has been diverted into the river to promote circulation. The efforts are rewarding and the solute oxygen content has risen while the levels of ammonia and nitrogen have decreased, according to the local environment monitoring agency. The ecosystem of the river has also improved as plankton and other small aquatic organisms have appeared again. |
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