China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) on Wednesday confirmed there are two large pits of sewage in North China, urging the local government to conduct examination of underground water and ease the impact on the neighborhood.
Liangjiang Huanbao, an NGO based in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, revealed on Wednesday that they had found several large pits filled with polluted water during an inspection tour of the region. The largest one, located in Zhaofu township, Dacheng county in Hebei, covers an area of 170,000 square meters, equal to the size of 23 football pitches.
Xiang Chun, head of the NGO, told the Global Times that the two pits in Dacheng county are located in suburban areas, while the one in Jinghai district in Tianjin, which covers an area of 150,000 square meters, is in the middle of farmland.
According to the MEP, Dacheng government said that the two pits were caused by digging years ago and was polluted in 2013 by illegal pouring of sulfuric acid. The government has been dealing with the polluted pits all the time, but the pollution control work hasn't been done yet.
MEP has required Dacheng government to conduct examination of water in the sewage pits, soil and groundwater of the neighboring areas, make corresponding treatment plan quickly, ease the impact on the neighborhood and update the public with follow-up information timely.
These pits have been there for almost six years, but they did not cause us any inconvenience because they are nowhere near residential areas, a villager surnamed Chen from Zhaofu township told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Chen added that some people used to dump pollutants into the pits, but they stopped in recent years due to the government's strict regulation on environment.
Water in these pits is rust-colored and in some areas, the water's pH level has already reached 1, said Xiang. The pH scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid, and ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral and anything below 7 acidic.
Polluted pits were found near chemical, leather and metal processing factories, and they will cause long-term pollution to groundwater and soil, Xiang said.
In order to save cost, some industries dump their waste water into the pits, and the water will gradually infuse into the ground water, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
In 2014, an industry owner surnamed Li in East China's Anhui Province was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan for using sewage pit to discharge pollutants, because his behavior severely damaged the environment, the China Environment News reported in 2015.
Groundwater pollution is more serious in North China than other parts of the country because the ground water level in this area is relatively low, which makes it easier for the pollutants to reach groundwater, Ma said.
The Ministry of Finance and the MEP on Wednesday jointly issued a document which said that they will give incentives to governments of all levels based on their performance to curb water pollution.
Experts noted that apart from water pollution, North China is also suffering from other forms of pollution, such as soil and air pollution, with the main reason being that the heavily polluted industries, such as steel, coal and mining, weigh over other industries in this area.
