Southwest China's Yunnan Province will invest 9 billion yuan (US$ 1.08 billion) tocurb serious pollution at Dianchi Lake, a famous high plateau lake,in upcoming five years.
The investment will be used to build 26 projects including construction of an urban sewage pipeline and a sewage disposal plant, dredging rivers which empty into Dianchi Lake and treating other pollutants in the region, said Deng Jiarong, deputy directorof the Yunnan Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau.
The Dianchi Lake, covering 306 square kilometers, is the major source of water for industrial and agricultural use in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. It also plays a key role in balancing the city's environment.
However, the water in the lake has become murky because of the industrial and domestic waste discharged into it over the past 20 years.
The local government has allocated 2.17 billion yuan to build 17 pollution control projects at Dianchi Lake. The current move will put the stress on building a drainage pipeline network.
As eutrophication is a global issue, the provincial environmental protection department is seeking international cooperation in treating eutrophication in the lake.
( People's Daily November 29, 2001)
