Report On The State Of The Environment In China State Environmental Protection Administration

The " Report on the State of the Environment in China" is released in accordance with
Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Zhou Shengxian
Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration
June 2, 2006

Environment General Situation

Water Quality of the Seven Major Rivers

In 2005, the water quality of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Songhua River, Huaihe River, Haihe River and Liaohe River was basically the same as the previous year.

Among the 411 surface water monitoring sections in the seven major rivers covered by the National Environmental Monitoring Center (NEMC), those with water quality at Grade I-III, IV-V, and those of the quality inferior to Grade V constituted 41%, 32%, and 27% respectively. Among others, the Pearl River and Yangtze River enjoyed fairly good water quality, Liaohe River, Huaihe River, Yellow River, and Songhua River suffered from poor water quality, and Haihe River was heavily polluted. The major pollutants were ammonia nitrogen, BOD5, permanganate index, and oils.

Among the 100 trans-province sections of the seven major rivers under national environmental monitoring program, 36%, 40%, and 24% fell into Grade I-III, Grade IV-V, or was worse than Grade V respectively. Trans-province river sections of the Haihe River and Huaihe River systems suffered from heavy pollution.

(1) Yangtze River System

Water quality of the Yangtze River system was good at large. 76%, 13%, and 11% of the 104 surface water sections under national monitoring program had water quality at Grade I-III, Grade IV-V or failed to meet Grade V respectively. The major pollutants were oils, ammonia nitrogen 9 and BOD5.

The mainstream of the Yangtze River enjoyed good water quality, and compared with last year, all sections had no remarkable changes in water quality. The mainstream was slightly polluted in Yunnan and Shanghai Sections despite excellent or good water quality in other sections.

In general, the tributaries of the Yangtze River experienced slight pollution. No obvious changes in tributary water quality were observed compared with the previous year. The Yalong River, Jialing River, Hanjiang River, and Wujiang River witnessed excellent water quality, Dadu River, Minjiang River, Xiangjiang River, Yuanjiang River, and Ganjiang River had good water quality (among others, Meishan Section of Minjiang River was heavily polluted, and Nanchang Section of Ganjiang River suffered from moderate pollution), and Tuojiang River was mildly polluted.
The water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of the Yangtze River was excellent, and that of all the six sections under national monitoring program fell into Grade II. No obvious changes of water quality were observed compared with the previous year.

Trans-province sections of the Yangtze River enjoyed good water quality. Among the 20 sections, 80% had water quality up to Grade I-III, 15% fell into Grade IV-V, and another 5% failed to meet Grade V. Water quality in these sections did not change much compared with last year. The following sections suffered from poor water quality: Chuhe Section and Chahe Section bordering Anhui Province was worse than Grade V, Xindianpu Section of Baihe River in the boundary of Henan and Hebei Province fell into Grade V, Laochi Section of Fujiang River bordering Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality met Grade IV, and Tieluqiao Section of Jinsha River in the boundary of Yunnan and Sichuan Province was of Grade IV. All the other 16 trans-province sections met or were superior to Grade III national water quality standard.

(2) Yellow River System

The Yellow River system was moderately polluted. Of the 44 surface water sections under national monitoring program, 34%, 41% and 25% respectively fell into Grade I-III, IV-V or worse than Grade V. The major pollutants were oils, ammonia nitrogen and BOD5.

The mainstream of the Yellow River suffered from mild pollution, and the water quality remained the same with the previous year. Qinghai Section and Gansu Section of the mainstream enjoyed 11 good water qualities; Henan Section, Ningxia Section, Shaanxi-Shanxi Section, Baotou Section of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot Section, and Heze Section of Shandong Province were slightly polluted; Wuhai Section of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was under heavy pollution.

In general, the tributaries of the Yellow River suffered from heavy pollution, and the water quality remained the same as in the previous year. Yihe River had excellent water quality, and Luohe River enjoyed good water quality. Dahei River, Bahe River, and Qinhe River were slightly polluted; Huangshui River and Yiluo River suffered from moderate pollution, and Weihe River, Fenhe River, Sushui River, and Beiluo River were heavily polluted.

The trans-province sections of the Yellow River under national monitoring program had poor water quality. 9%, 55%, and 36% of the 11 trans-province river sections under national monitoring program fell into Grade I-III, Grade IV and V, or was worse than Grade V respectively. The following trans-province sections witnessed poor water quality: Lasengmiao Section bordering Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions in the mainstream of Yellow River failed to meet Grade V; Tongguan Suspension Bridge Section of Weihe River in the boundary of Shaanxi, Henan and Shanxi Province was worse than Grade V; Hejin Bridge section of Fenhe River bordering Shaanxi-Shanxi provinces failed to meet Grade V; Zhangliuzhuang Section of Songshui River bordering Shaanxi and Shanxi Province had water quality poorer than Grade V; Minhe Bridge Section (Huangshui River) in the boundary of Qinghai and Gansu Province fell into Grade V, and other trans-province sections had water quality meeting or better than Grade IV.

(3) Pearl River System

Pearl River system enjoyed good water quality at large. Of the 33 surface water sections under national monitoring program, 76%, 18% and 6% fell into Grade I-III, Grade IV or was worse than Grade V respectively. There were no sections with water quality at Grade V. The major pollutants were oils, BOD5 and ammonia nitrogen. The overall water quality of the mainstream Pearl River was good with water quality the same as last year. Water quality in Yunnan Section of the mainstream was excellent, Guizhou Section and Guangxi Section enjoyed good water quality, and Guangdong Section was slightly polluted (among others, Changzhou Section had water quality worse than Grade V, and Lianhuashan Section fell into Grade IV).

Water quality of the tributaries of the Pearl River was good at large, and no obvious changes were observed compared with 2004. Dabang River, Duliu River, Liujiang River, Zuojiang River, Lijiang River, Guijiang River, and Dongjiang River enjoyed excellent water quality; Longjiang River, Youjiang River, Yongjiang River, Hejiang River, and Beijiang River observed good water quality. Beipan River and Modaomen Watercourse were slightly polluted.

The trans-province water section of Pearl River enjoyed excellent water quality. All the seven trans-province water sections under national-level monitoring program met or were better than Grade III quality standard.