China’s Seven River Systems Are All Polluted
June 19, 2011
By Mu Qing
Epoch Times Staff
The overall environmental situation in China is very grim with all seven major river systems polluted, according to Li Ganjie, Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, speaking at a press conference on June 3 to discuss the Report of the State of the Environment of China (2010).
However, Li refused to comment on recent discussion among the general public that the severity of the current drought is due to the Three Gorges Dam.
Li said the surface water pollution across the country is still relatively grave. China uses a six-grade classification scheme for water quality. Grade 1 is the best, water no worse than grade 3 can be used for drinking, but sometimes requires treatment, and water worse than grade 5 cannot be used for irrigation.
Of 204 rivers and 209 monitoring points, 59.9 percent of rivers were grade 3 or better, 23.7 percent of rivers were grade 4 or 5, and 16.4 percent failed to meet any grade standard.
The seven major water systems are the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Pearl River, the Songhua River, the Huai River, the Hai River, and the Liao River. Overall, the average pollution level is minor, but the Yellow River and Liao River have medium pollution, while Huai River is heavily polluted.
Eutrophication of lakes (reservoirs) is still a prominent problem—an excess of nutrients, for example from fertilizer runoff, causes algal bloom and subsequent problems such as hypoxia or lack of oxygen. Eutrophication was found in 11 of the 26 water bodies tested.
This year, the lower portion of the Yangtze River was hit with the worst drought in 50 years, causing problems for fisheries in the Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan Provinces, and leaving many people without drinking water.
Li admitted that the Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi Provinces are currently experiencing severe drought, where water levels are at their lowest position in several large lakes, including Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, and Hong Lake. This is a problem that has occurred very rarely in recent decades Since the completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2006, the middle and lower portions of the Yangtze River have suffered drought every year with lake water levels decreasing continuously. When asked if the Three Gorges Dam has contributed to the severity of this year’s drought, Li did not respond.
Li said that in terms of ecological and environmental protection, the impact of the drought is very large. The monitoring data show that water quality has also diminished significantly due to substantial reduction in lake water levels.
Gao Jianguo, a scientist at the Institute of Geology of the China Earthquake Administration, said that the Yangtze River is actually draining water from some of the lakes.
“The operation of the Three Gorges project broke the existing water flow patterns,” Gao said.
“Using Poyang Lake as example, the Three Gorges reservoir stores up water every October, but this is also when the lake in Jiangxi Province dries up,” he continued. “The Poyang Lake really needs water at this time, but the result is, not only was water not added, but the low water level in the Yangtze River pulls water from the lake and dries it up.”
Renowned German hydraulics expert Wang Weiluo said that the major drought in the lower portion of Chang Jiang started in March this year. The main cause was lack of rain, but the Three Gorges Dam accelerated the drought.
Hydraulics experts in Hunan, Jiangxi, and other provinces have pointed out problems with the balance of water levels between Poyong Lake and Dongting Lake. Due to the Three Gorge Dam, the balance was disrupted, and has now entered a state of disharmony. Nature itself has built-in mutual recovery mechanisms, but they have been destroyed by the Three Gorges Project.
China’s state-controlled media said the regime is releasing water in the Three Gorges reservoir to alleviate the drought, but Wang believes that in reality it does not really want to fight the problem, and is simply concerned there might be a flood later. According to the operations plans for the Three Gorges Dam, the reservoir water level must be decreased to 145 meters above sea level in early June to prevent flooding that could happen later this month.
The quality of coastal waters in China also drew concerns. Li said the average pollution level is low among the four major coastal areas (the Yellow Sea, South China Sea, Bohai Sea and East China Sea), but 23.2 percent of the coast has areas with a relatively bad grade of 4.
. “The Yellow Sea and South China Sea coastal water quality is good, the Bohai Sea coastal water quality was poor, and the East China Sea water quality is very poor,” Li said. However, he did not provide an explanation as to why the water quality in the East China Sea coast is so poor.
When asked about the many occurrences of heavy metal pollution, Li claimed that nine of the 14 incidents in 2010 were due to lead, and the seven incidents in the first five months of 2011 were all lead-related.
Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china/chinas-seven-river-systems-are-all-polluted-57283.html
Tourists from Asia, America and Europe arrives in Clark Philippines looking for the best restaurant in Angeles City to wine and dine before nightlife entertainment begins; many wine and food lovers look for the best fine dining restaurant in Angeles City to relax and unwind after golf or work in Clark Philippines, others bring their families to enjoy a good dinner at the child friendly restaurant in Angeles City Pampanga.
Wine and food lovers travel north out of town from Manila towards Pampanga to wine and dine at the best restaurant in Angeles City, uncorking a few bottles of fine vintage wine from Yats Wine Cellars accompanied by juicy US steaks or an assortment of fine seafood and vegetarian dishes only available in the best restaurants in Pampanga Clark Philippines
Best restaurant in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines serves great steaks and seafood with fine vintage wine. The wine cellars of this restaurant in Clark Pampanga offer wine lovers a wide variety of vintage wines to enjoy with the delicious food and elegant cuisine of this fine dining restaurant. These wines are not available elsewhere in the Philippines except in the outlets of Yats Restaurant in Angeles City and Clark Philippines. The combination of fine wine, good food, cozy and elegant dining ambience and excellent service makes every dinner at this frequently visited restaurant in Clark Philippines a special treat. Guests from Manila, Subic, Angeles City and Clark Pampanga enjoy dining at this popular restaurant and wine bar for a number of reasons. Some praise this top rated restaurant for its private dining rooms that offer privacy and class. Others like the cozy elegant ambience of the main dining room of this fine dining restaurant in Clark. Foodies prefer to dine at this restaurant in Clark Philippines for its classic French Mediterranean cuisine and the genuine ingredients that go into the not only the meat but also the sidings in this restaurant. Wine lovers favor this resto bar in Pampanga because it is the best restaurant in Manila and Pampanga with an large wine list that offers many selections of fine vintage wines at good prices. Event organizers frequently choose this restaurant in Clark for corporate meetings, anniversaries, awarding ceremonies, small wedding receptions, private parties and all sorts of other functions and events. Many visitors to Angeles City and Clark Pampanga regard Yats Restaurant as a one-stop all-purpose business center complete with fine dining, wine lounge and meeting facilities, a very convenient venue for business executives staying in Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Philippines.
For comments, inquiries and reservations click on Click here for inquiry and reservations
Restaurant@Yats-International.com
(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
0917-520-4401
Ask for Pedro and Rechel
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
For any assistance in planning and organizing a wedding ceremony, indoor or outdoor garden reception or to find other wedding service providers, Click here to contact us click here
For assistance in hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines, log on to
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
To buy wine in Manila, Pampanga, Angeles City, Clark or Subic please log on to http://www. ClarkWineCenter.com
To inquire with the highly recommended beach resort hotel in Clark Pampanga visit http://www.ClearwaterPhililippines.com
For more information about Clark, Pampanga, Philippines log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
