Investigation uncovers source of stinky river

The Fengxian District Environmental Protection Bureau has identified a clothing manufacturer and an industrial park drainage system as two sources of the pollution that has stunk up a river in Jinhui town, the bureau said Thursday.

A resident reported Tuesday that the foul odor was coming from the Huibei River near 299 Jiangting Road, according to a report in the Oriental Morning Post. The resident also complained that the water was changing color.

The river stretches 3,500 meters east to west from the Jinhui Town Industrial Park to the Minhang district border, according to a press release from the Fengxian District Environmental Protection Bureau.

Environmental bureau officials investigated the incident Tuesday and Wednesday and found that Shanghai Suoyi Clothing Co Ltd had discharged partially processed wastewater that had been used to wash printing boards into the river, the bureau said.

They also found that the company didn't possess the proper environmental permits.

The investigation also turned up sewer pipes in the Jinhui Town Industrial Park that frequently backed up into the storm sewer system, which drains into the river.

The 30,000-square-meter industrial park, which was built in 1993, is home to 120 factories that produce 1,000 tons of wastewater a day, the bureau said.

During the investigation, officials uncovered black wastewater flowing out of the storm sewers near Jinbi Road, which runs through the center of the industrial park.

The bureau also found factories and residents in Dongxing village, which is located to the north of the Huibei River, dumping wastewater into the river.

Because the river flows slowly, it is easy for pollutants to build up in the water, the bureau said.

The bureau vowed to strengthen supervision over the factories in the area to prevent them from discharging wastewater into the river.

The township government plans to have the industrial park's drainage system repaired.