Why do these enterprises pursue zero emissions? Despite meeting emission standards with low costs, 90% of the Yangtze River discharge outlets in Shanghai have been renovated, and the Yangtze River is now environmentally friendly
Many residents of Yuepu were once afraid of rain, and it seemed that shortly after it started to rain, the water quality of the surrounding rivers began to deteriorate.
The main culprit behind this is the initial rainwater, which dissolves pollutants in the air. After landing on the ground, it carries pollutants from buildings, roads, and other surfaces, which enter the river through rainwater pipes and pump station pipelines. This is currently one of the main factors causing river pollution in the urban area of Shanghai.
Not only does it affect the environment around residents, but river pollution in areas such as Pudong, Baoshan, and Chongming also affects the water quality of the Yangtze River. Taking Yangsheng River as an example, crossing the Yueluo Highway to the north, encountering Lianqi River and turning east, it will merge into the Yangtze River about 5 kilometers in a one-way journey.
Seizing the key node of river pollution - the discharge outlet into the river - has been an important lever for Shanghai to implement the national strategy of protecting the Yangtze River in recent years. On July 11th, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment announced that as of now, more than 90% of the 1467 Yangtze River discharge outlets identified by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in Pudong, Baoshan, and Chongming districts have been rectified.
Accurate traceability
Without precise traceability, governance measures cannot be implemented.
Shanghai is located in the tidal river network area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain, with complex water systems, variable hydrology, dense river channels, and a wide range of discharge outlets with strong concealment, making it difficult to trace and rectify the source.
The ecological and environmental departments in Shanghai, together with water, agriculture and rural departments, and relevant streets and towns, will integrate relevant data and review traceability information. At the same time, fully mobilize the initiative and enthusiasm of large enterprises such as Baowu Group, Huaneng Power Plant, Shanghai Urban Investment, and Shanggang Group, and let the enterprises take the initiative to undertake the traceability and rectification work of the river discharge outlet in the factory area.
To improve traceability efficiency, Shanghai actively piloted scientific and technological means to conduct comprehensive investigation and physical examination of river discharge outlets in Pudong, Baoshan, Chongming and other areas. For example, by means of manual on-site surveys, unmanned ships carrying side scan sonar, and unmanned aerial vehicles conducting close range aerial surveys, all underwater and concealed areas under bridges can be inspected; Using geographic information analysis technology to lock in the scope of on-site traceability investigation, using technologies such as periscopes, pipeline robots, pipeline endoscopes, ground penetrating radar, and tracers to identify the source of pollution, achieving traceability for all sources.
Chongming District is the "bridgehead" of the Yangtze River protection project. The traceability work is tight and the task is heavy. Multiple departments in Chongming District have formed a joint effort to accurately identify all sewage outlets entering the river, accounting for about two-thirds of the total number in the Yangtze River basin in Shanghai.
Having mastered the specific location and characteristics of river discharge outlets, each district relies on the ecological environment data center platform to comprehensively integrate various types of river discharge outlets, riverbank conditions, water system distribution, and sewage pipe networks within the region. A database of "one outlet, one file", "one river, one file", and "one street, one file" has been established, and based on this, a long-term supervision and management mechanism for discharge outlets with clear responsibilities, reasonable settings, and standardized management has been established.
On the electronic screen of the Ecological Environment Bureau in Baoshan District, hundreds of blue dots are drawn on the discharge outlets along the two kilometers of the Yangtze River in the area, distributed around the main river channels and branch water systems, like a starry belt.
When the mouse is moved over a sewage discharge outlet in the river, the traceability information table in the upper right corner of the screen immediately displays dozens of information such as the sewage discharge outlet's number, the river channel, caliber, supervisory unit, and photos collected during investigation. Switch to the monitoring record form, which displays the monitoring information of the sewage discharge outlet, including the monitoring report number, monitoring results, etc.
Having mastered the way pollution enters the river, Yuepu has thoroughly controlled the initial rainwater by improving the urban drainage system.
Since the operation of the Yuepu South Pumping Station, all initial rainwater has been collected in the storage tank and sent to the Shidongkou Sewage Treatment Plant for treatment. The water quality of the Yangsheng River, Malu River, and Malu Branch River in the 2.95 square kilometer service area has remained stable at Class III. Prior to the operation of the pumping station, due to the direct discharge of initial rainwater, the water quality of these rivers was at its worst, only Class V.
Drawing on the successful experience of the Baoshan pilot project, a map of the sewage discharge outlets in the entire city of Shanghai is being drawn, making the sources of river pollution more transparent and the governance more targeted.
Far sighted and insightful
Protecting the Mother River is an unshirkable responsibility of everyone, but it requires a high sense of responsibility, courage, wisdom, and foresight to be concretized into practical actions.
Four years ago, a seemingly simple choice was presented to Baosteel Nippon Steel Automotive Plate Co., Ltd., but after the final decision was made, it surprised most people.
The wastewater generated during the production process of ordinary cold plate and hot-dip galvanized plate can be discharged into the Yangtze River after being treated according to traditional environmental protection processes and meeting standards. However, Baori Automotive Plate forces itself to "zero discharge" - treating all the wastewater and reusing it for production.
Zero emissions have brought a lot of trouble to Baori Automotive's board. Production water has high requirements for indicators such as chemical oxygen demand, which should be reduced to below 30 milligrams per liter. This requires the addition of corresponding wastewater treatment facilities. The salt and other waste generated from wastewater treatment must not be disposed of arbitrarily. It is necessary to find corresponding environmental solutions and strive to be "eaten dry and squeezed out" like wastewater.
To this end, Baori Automobile has invested more than 200 million yuan in the construction of a wastewater deep treatment station and a wastewater reuse station. By the end of 2021, the first domestic cold rolling wastewater zero discharge project to implement quality and salt extraction will be completed and put into operation. It can reduce water intake to natural water bodies by 1.5 million tons per year, reduce wastewater discharge by about 1.5 million tons, and reduce water related pollutant emissions by 60 tons.
"The operation and maintenance cost of 'zero emissions' is much higher than meeting the standard emissions, but we believe that the current efforts are worth it." Luo Wenqin, the general manager of Baori Automobile, said that although the construction and operation costs of the project are high, in the long run, only' zero emissions' can completely prevent pollution from flowing into the Yangtze River, which is the perfect solution to protect the Yangtze River. Moreover, with the continuous improvement of social environmental awareness, the requirements for meeting the standard emissions will continue to be adjusted and stricter. Instead of passively adapting to the standards and carrying out environmental and energy-saving renovations time and time again, it is better to 'once and for all'. After running a 'marathon', the overall cost will actually be lower.
"I hope that more and more environmental pioneers can be fully recognized and motivated by society for their courage to innovate and make contributions." Zheng Kai, Director of the Baoshan Ecological Environment Bureau, said that the "zero emission" project of Baori Automobile Board is in a leading position in China in terms of resource utilization concept and advanced level of technical equipment. After mature operation, it forms a replicable and promotable model, helping more domestic steel enterprises "tap the potential" in areas such as wastewater reuse and reducing water resource consumption, and has great market potential.
Similar to Baori Automobile Board, Gu Haofeng, the legal representative of Shanghai Hubao Aquaculture Professional Cooperative, also deeply agrees that "green mountains and clear waters are like mountains of gold and silver.". The cooperative he is responsible for is located in the second level protection zone of Chenxing drinking water source, with 600 acres of river crab breeding water area.
Three years ago, the cooperative invested tens of millions of yuan to build a live water aquaculture area. The tail water of the aquaculture area intercepts particles such as feces through downstream ecological interception screens, and after absorbing nutrients through submerged and emergent plants and aquatic animals, it is raised to the upstream of the crab pond through aeration and water pushing area for aquaculture, achieving internal circulation and self purification.
Purification wetlands have also been built around the cooperative. In the event of heavy rain, excessive tail water flows through the wetlands for purification and is discharged outside the water source, resulting in water quality better than Class V.
"Water is the lifeblood of aquaculture." Gu Haofeng pointed to the Golden Crab Trophy won by the cooperative in the National River Crab Competition last year, saying that crabs and water share weal and woe. Only with good water in the entire area can the quality of crabs be good. More and more consumers are starting to understand and agree with the concept of "sustainable aquaculture", and are more willing to choose their Yangtze River crabs on the premise of similar prices.
