City's sewage supervision not tough enough

The majority of Beijing's businesses continue to dump untreated, dirty water into the city's sewage network, and most of them do not have the necessary permits to do so, said the government body responsible for the city's sewers.

The unsupervised nature of waste water discharge has led to serious pollution in Beijing's water supply and resources, said environmental experts yesterday, who added that just being licensed to discharge sewage will not do anything to improve the capital's water situation.

Only 4,000 users hold a sewage permit among 80,000 in the capital, so Beijing Drainage Group (BDG), responsible for the collection and disposal of sewage as well as reclamation of disposed wastewater, held an open day at the weekend to encourage the other 95 percent to apply for the necessary permits. The public were able to visit drainage facilities in Sanlihe, Xicheng district, the Beijing News reported.

According to the report, water users, including manufacturers and institutions involved in the scientific research, health, accommodation and catering fields, which discharge waste water into the public sewage network, should get a certificate first, required by regulations which took effect in January, 2010.

Liu Dashuang, a vice director with BDG, told the Beijing News that he had observed restaurants pouring used cooking oil directly into drains when he visited well-known dining street, Guijie, in Dongcheng district in 2010.

Some restaurant owners did not even realize some kitchen waste cannot go directly into the sewer or knew they needed a permit, the report said.

Zhang Xiang, who co-founded Leshuixing, a water-protection NGO, said yesterday that citizens living near rivers told him that the river banks had been beautified with pavilions, but the river itself is dirty and smelly.

His organization has been closely watching rivers in Beijing for five ears.

"River conditions did improve because Beijing hosted the Olympics, but after that, the situation went downhill," Zhang told the Global Times.

In one two-kilometer stretch of the Qinghe River, in northwestern Beijing, Zhang saw 10 drainage outlets, which discharged directly into the water.

After he reported this to Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, he was told that the bureau only cares about and supervises pollution discharge by factories, not smaller organizations such as restaurants or even schools.

"The government has told the truth [about the permits] to the public, but next they should decide what to do," said Zhang, adding that his organization is to look into what is really behind the situation that so few organizations have applied for a permit.

Zhang said he was confused as to why Beijing Water Authority is responsible for managing the drainage system, but also has supervisory power sover pollution issues, which he thinks the environmental protection bureau should be responsible for.

Ma Jun, director with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs echoed Zhang's concerns.

"Beijing's groundwater is seriously polluted, so water drainage must be rigidly supervised," said Ma.

Many pipelines, which should only be used for discharging rainwater are used to let out waste water, and then directly into rivers, he said.

Ma said a certificate is a must for users, but it is far from being enough to curb the water pollution problem.

"Awareness of sewage treatment should be taught to users as well as citizens," said Ma, who added that formalities should be made simple for users to apply for the permit.

Some users may have difficulty in processing waste water before discharging it into the public sewage network, Ma said, and the government should help them when supervising them.

Liu acknowledged that applying for a permit could be complicated, but BDG will send staff to aid people in the application process, said the Beijing News.

Better management of Beijing's water resources is urgently needed, agreed Ma and Zhang.

"By saving water, not only do we keep water resources, but also release the burden for wastewater disposal," said Zhang, emphasizing that a law is urgently needed for saving water.