14 Party and government officials have been held accountable for rectifying illegal water use platforms | water resources | water use in Ordos, Inner Mongolia
On April 14, 2022, the Third Central Ecological Environment Protection Inspection Group inspected Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and found that the water resource management in Qipanjing area of Ordos City has been loose and soft for a long time, with prominent problems of illegal water intake and use. The main problems include: failure to achieve rectification goals, continuous decline in groundwater level, chaotic water resource supervision, prominent problems of illegal water intake and use, disorderly river management, and ecological concerns in the Yellow River channel.
There are 8 groundwater overexploitation areas in Ordos City, which is the area with the highest number of overexploitation areas in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Qipanjing area is located in the northwest of Etuoke Banner, Ordos City, and is a severely water scarce area. Water scarcity has become a prominent bottleneck that restricts regional economic and social development and ecological environment protection.
More than a year has passed, how has the above-mentioned problem been rectified? How about the effect? With these questions in mind, during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the reporter went to Etuoke Banner, Ordos City for on-site visits
On the evening of the trip, Etuoke Banner provided a report on the local rectification situation: after being exposed, the banner attached great importance to it, with party and government leaders leading the way and relevant departments comprehensively sinking and working together to tackle the problem. Four aspects and 11 specific problems were reported for typical cases, and 59 specific rectification measures were refined and formulated. Specifically, all 7 coal mine drainage pipelines have been completed; The current water consumption of the entire flag is 50000 meters ³ The above 130 enterprises have installed 315 sets of online monitoring equipment to achieve 24-hour monitoring; 50000 meters of water usage ³ All 235 enterprises below have installed measuring facilities and conduct regular monitoring; 12 companies have implemented measures such as layer separation grouting, filling mining, and grouting to seal cracks, implementing water conservation and coal mining, as well as controlling the Ordovician limestone area; All 26 regulated enterprises have implemented water-saving transformation
The next day, the reporter first arrived at Chengyuan Water Company located in Qipanjing Industrial Park, which operates and manages the unified water supply project in the Qipanjing area. Entering the comprehensive water purification room, putting on shoe covers at the entrance, and climbing up the second floor along the brand new iron ladder, one can see a huge water treatment pool in the vast space, with flowing water on both sides... Bai Hailong, Deputy Minister of Production of Chengyuan Water Company, told us that this water treatment center is part of the unified water supply project in the Qipanjing area. The total investment of this unified water supply project is 550 million yuan, with a designed daily treatment capacity of 25000 cubic meters of Yellow River water and 10000 cubic meters of mine drainage water. The entire project was completed at the end of last year. This project has completely solved the drinking water safety problem for 100000 local residents and ensured the supply of "dual water sources" for local domestic water.
Qipanjing Unified Water Supply Project
Afterwards, the reporter arrived at a completely enclosed underground water intake well located next to the road outside the park. The square cement platform is about eight to nine meters high by one meter. If it were not introduced, it would be difficult for the reporter to associate this cement platform with the intake well. According to colleagues from the Etoke Banner Water Resources Bureau, the concave part in the middle of the cement platform is the well hole of the previous well. After extracting the water pipe from the well hole and pouring cement to completely seal the well, it has become what it is now. There are 36 completely sealed wells in the chessboard well area, which have been transformed into 4 observation wells and included in the unified management of 3 wells. Not far from the road opposite the completely sealed well, there is a cement platform surrounded by a white fence, which is the K191 well that has been changed to an observation well. After opening the sensing well cover next to the cement platform, the real-time groundwater level can be observed through monitoring data.
Photo by Wang Huiyuan of a cement sealed water well
Feng Qishe from K191 observation well
Later, the reporter arrived at the second floor of the Government Affairs Center in Qipanjing Industrial Park. On the large screen of the Enterprise Service Center, the reporter watched a demonstration of the Etuoke Banner Smart Water Conservancy Comprehensive Management Platform. According to Bai Lifang from the Qi Water Resources Bureau, this platform is based on advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, with water resource management as the core. It integrates enterprise water management, agricultural irrigation water management, modern irrigation area management, and water conservancy engineering related businesses, and builds a comprehensive monitoring and management platform for water resources across the entire flag. Currently, all 161 water extraction enterprises in the Qipanjing area are included in the smart water resources platform for intelligent supervision. The platform staff told reporters that it was launched in March this year and can accurately monitor users' water usage information in real time. It uses mobile applications to establish contact with users, completely changing the heavy labor of manual copying in the past.
The large screen of the intelligent water conservancy comprehensive management platform in Etuoke Banner, photographed by Feng Qi
During the interview, the reporter learned that according to the investigation and rectification plan issued by the Office of the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, six measures were clearly defined in two aspects for typical water related cases in the Qipanjing area, and all rectification tasks were completed as required. It is reported that the comprehensive remediation has achieved significant results. From May last year to May this year, the groundwater usage in the area decreased by 6.34 million cubic meters compared to the same period in history, and the water level increased by 3.43 meters year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. The Qi Water Resources Bureau showed us a curve chart of water level moving towards a good direction
A comrade from the Qi Water Resources Bureau said that the chart should be interpreted as follows: on June 23, 2023, the displayed water level was buried at a depth of 224.2563m, and an additional 1.26m is needed to represent the actual water level of the monitoring well at a depth of 225.52 meters. Compared to the same day in 2022, the water level has risen by 3.53 meters. Currently, the Qipanjing Overmining Area has the largest year-on-year increase in water level among the 32 Overmining Areas in the entire area.
The Water Resources Bureau further explained that after measures such as measuring the development and utilization of groundwater in the system, sealing karst self provided water wells, and coal mine water conservation and coal mining were implemented, coupled with the increase in rainfall and replenishment in 2022, the groundwater level of K191 monitoring well increased by 3.05-4.08 meters compared to the same period in 2022. Specifically, point A: The rebound in the development and utilization of groundwater in the system led to a decrease in water level of about 0.04m/d. Point B: After the measurement measures for the development and utilization of groundwater in the system, the closure of karst self provided water wells, and coal mine water conservation and mining, the decrease in water level has slowed down to 0.015m/d. At the same time, due to the large amount of precipitation in the feng shui year of 2022, especially the large single rainfall, it can effectively supply karst groundwater. After the maximum depth of water level reached 229.06m on June 21, 2022, the water level began to rise. Point C: Due to the comprehensive effects of various governance measures and precipitation, the water level began to recover, and by January 30, 2023, the impact reached its minimum point, which was also the highest point of water level recovery. D point: In 2023, due to the combined effects of insufficient rainfall and coal mining, the water level temporarily shows a downward trend, with a decrease of 0.015m/d. After the groundwater is effectively replenished during the rainy season, the water level will gradually rise.
In the overexploitation areas such as Albas Sumusuusu, reporters have observed that these areas have now widely promoted crop rotation, soybean and corn strip compound planting, encouraging farmers and herdsmen to plant water-saving crops such as soybeans, pumpkins, foxtail millet, and red onions. Multiple measures are taken to reduce agricultural irrigation water and ensure agricultural production efficiency. It is understood that the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Bureau of Qiqi is actively responding to the policy call of higher authorities for water conservation and consumption reduction, as well as high-quality development of agricultural production, and continuously and deeply implementing various technical measures. Correspondingly, high standard farmland construction projects will be implemented in the areas of Albassiumu, Mengxi Town, Qipanjing Town, and Mukainaoer Town, integrating land and large-scale production, changing traditional irrigation methods such as flood irrigation and sprinkler irrigation to disc drip irrigation, resulting in a reduction of over 33% in agricultural irrigation water use in the project area.
During this period, the reporter clearly felt that the local law enforcement efforts were significantly increasing, and the power of deterrence had spread to every corner. Some interviewees privately lamented that the actions were real, the lessons learned were too profound, and they dared not act recklessly anymore... According to reports, under the strict crackdown on high pressure, a total of 7 illegal water sales points have been banned in the local area, 30 water intake permit procedures have been improved, 43 water source wells have been closed, 136 cases have been filed and all have been completed. A fine of 4.62 million yuan has been imposed, and water resource taxes and late fees of 298 million yuan have been recovered. The public security department registered 7 criminal cases and arrested 8 suspect. Give full play to the supervisory role of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Supervision Commission, and 14 party and government cadres have been held seriously accountable for their perfunctory and inadequate supervision in water management and control work
The government of Etuoke Banner Committee stated that the lessons learned are profound and impactful. In the future, we must focus on the long-term and strive for long-term governance, water development, and peace of mind with a strong sense of answering questions.All members of the flag must have a deep understanding and grasp of the situation of Etuoke Banner with an average annual precipitation of over 200 millimeters and a "nine drought in ten years". We must prioritize the conservation and intensive utilization of water resources, organically combine problem rectification with the improvement of long-term management mechanisms, accelerate the construction of a water-saving society, and promote the institutionalization and long-term effectiveness of rectification results.
The Ordos Municipal Party Committee and Government stated that it is necessary to draw inferences from one another and keep the alarm bells ringing. It is necessary to learn from the typical cases of wading in the Qipan well area. It is necessary to learn and practice Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought and the "sixteen-character" water control idea, and resolutely implement the general secretary in Inner Mongolia. The important directive spirit of the important speech during the inspection, insist on taking water resources as the biggest rigid constraint, resolutely implement the principle of "water to determine green, water to determine land, water to determine people, and water to determine production", establish and improve a strict long-term mechanism for water resources management, scientifically and efficiently use water resources, and provide a solid foundation for the city's high-quality economic and social development The water guarantee contributes to the Ordos strength to build an important ecological security barrier in northern my country.
