Project Scope and Relationship to China's Agenda 21

This project seeks ways to control pollution and improve water quality and stimulate the economic development of the Baiyangdian Lake area. The specific objectives addressed by this project are to restore the eco-environment in Baiyangdian lake. It is based on programme area 14E of China's Agenda 21.

1. Background

Baiyangdian, the largest freshwater lake in North China, has always been known as the pearl of the region thanks to its rich local products, convenient transportation facilities, favourable geographical location, and scenic beauty. It connects the city of Baoding in the west and Tianjin in the east, and is in close proximity to Beijing and Shijiazhuang in the north and south, respectively. However, since the 1960s, it has suffered shrinkage of its water surface, drying up of its water source, increasingly serious water pollution resulting from urban industrial waste, leading to the constant drop of aquatic production, and finally to siltation and sedimentation of the lake. Until the 1980s, the area of Baiyangdian's water surface having a water quality ranking of Grade 4-5 had reached 28%, and the area falling into the category of light pollution ( Grade 3) occupied 60%. The management, protection, exploitation and utilization of the lake directly affects the livelihood and economy of the local people, future regional development, and eco-environmental improvements in Beijing, Tianjin, and central Hebei.

The central government has repeatedly given instructions to work out a thorough solution to water pollution issues in Baiyangdian. Baiyangdian lake basin is a semi-closed interlocked ecosystem which is bounded by the piedmont of the Taihang Mountains in the west and by the low-lying wetland of Central Hebei Plain and the Bohai Sea in the east. Constrained and stimulated by factors related to the formation of land-water landscape morphology, this particular type of ecosystem can intercept, filter, migrate and purify certain incoming pollutants. These processes can either benefit pollution control or can generate natural resources with high economic value. What is more, the semi-closed drainage system, together with the complete territorial structure, can aid in engineering control. For these reasons, it is possible to make the lake basin a typical site for an on-the-spot investigation, and to conduct multiple water pollution control technical experiments, a complete set of engineering experiments, as well as a demonstration. By so doing, it is possible to provide much valuable technology for regional pollution control and sustainable economic development, and to make important contributions in exploring water pollution control theory and practice, much needed by developing countries.

There have been a lot of studies and analyses for years on the water pollution control of the Lake, as well as official inspections conducted by governmental leaders at various levels including the detailed investigations on environmental pollution in the area conducted in the 1970s by the Shijiazhuang Institute of Geography (Hebei Province) and the Institute of Zoology, CAS, the studies on the structure, function, environmental effects and prospects for future development of the ecosystem in the water-land interlocked area in the 1990s by the Institute of Geography, the Ecological Centre and the Institute of Zoology under CAS, etc.

Starting in the 1970s, 53 control and prevention projects were initiated by the provincial government of Hebei with the support of the central government. In the beginning of 1992, the two biggest paper-making mills were forced to suspend production or change their product line. Meanwhile, two industrial waste treatment plants with a capacity of 8000 tons/day were under construction to lay a sound foundation for water pollution control and prevention in Baiyangdian. However, further consideration is needed of urban centre treatment and the integrated utilization of resources crucial to Baiyangdian.

The main existing problems are that oxygen-consuming organic pollution and water body nutrient enrichment are increasing while the water quality continues to deteriorate, and effective means to cope with pollution induced by hard-to-degrade toxic organic materials in organisms with severe toxicity are still unavailable in Baiyangdian.

Even after the treatment plants under construction are put into operation, the treated water COD concentration would still fluctuate around 100 mg/l. Furthermore, of the total amount of municipal sewage directly entering Baiyangdian, only a small portion could receive treatment in the plants whereas the larger untreated portion be directly discharged into the lake.

Pollution caused by economic activities (daily life, tourism) and by irrational aquatic farming in Baiyangdian need to be handled. In addition, the relations between resource utilization, eco-environment management planning, pollution control/prevention and socio-economic development in the lake basin and surroundings are also waiting to be tackled.

2. Objectives

• Long-term Objectives
  • To control pollution, improve water quality, develop production, stimulate the economy and improve the health of the people in Baiyangdian.

• Immediate Objectives
  • Reduce pollutant discharge through the popularization and utilization of clean technologies and production procedures, as well as major centre treatment techniques adaptable to the proposed area.
  • Reduce incoming pollutants to the lake, control lake nutrient enrichment and make the lake's water quality satisfy the requirements of Grade 3 national standard for surface water by using a complete set of new technologies such as centralized land treatment and oxidation pond renovation, treatment of wetland through ecological engineering, etc.
  • Expand effective channels for using recycling centres, to develop aquatic farming and increase reed output.
  • Develop tourism, stimulate the economy, and improve the living standards of local people through the rational utilization of natural resources.

3. Activities

• 3.1 Develop and popularize new technologies for nonhazardous treatment and waste water treatment technologies for small-scale paper mills and printing and dyeing industries (Anxin County).

• 3.2 Establish demonstration projects for centralized land treatment and centralized resource use.
  • Develop demonstration projects for centralized land treatment.
  • Develop demonstration projects for centralized treatment related to wet-land ecological engineering and the restoration of ecological function.

• 3.3 Establish renovation projects for central reservoir and oxidation pond.
  • Establish the Tanghe centre reservoir renovation project for pond-reservoir compatible with oxidation pond treatment.
  • Establish demonstration projects for natural purification of waste discharges.

• 3.4 Carry out demonstration studies:
  • on optimization model for pollution control and resource utilization in Baiyangdian;
  • on optimization model for water body self-purification and aquatic farming;
  • on optimization management model for reeds production, farming, tourism development, water allocation, and pollution control.

• 3.5 Study water pollution control theory and methodology of water pollution related to geochemical ecological engineering.

  These activities will be organized by the local government of Hebei Province.

  The duration of this project will be three years.

5. Benefits

The most direct benefit to be obtained following the implementation of the project is the ability to control the effect of pollution from Baoding on Baiyangdian. Under normal conditions, the occurrence of serious accidents such as large-scale fish extermination will be minimized. With centralized resource to use techniques, centralized industrial reuse will be possible and water quality in Baiyangdian will regain the Grade 3 standard for land surface water. In addition, areas irrigated for agricultural purposes and aquatic farms will be expanded, water quality will be improved (with benefits for tourist areas), the normal function of the damaged aquatic ecosystem will be restored, and pollution-induced conflicts among cities, prefectures and counties will be eliminated to promote stability and unity.

From a long-term point of view, the improvement of water quality accompanied by the stimulation of benign circulation in regional ecosystems will benefit the regional economy and raise the living standards and health of the people. In addition, Baiyangdian can serve as a buffer, storing water coming to Beijing once the Middle Route Water Transfer from South to North has been completed. This will guarantee the safety of domestic water supply for the capital. The research results and applied technology of the proposal will serve as an example for regional water pollution control in the northern part of China.