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Catchment Scale
The location of Danjinlicao watershed in bigger view
Map of Danjinlicao canal
Bigger view of Danjinlicao canal
Danjinlicao Small
Watershed Restoration
(2015)
Type Research project
Area 65.7km length
Location Across Danyang City, Jintan City, and Liang City, Jiangsu Province, China
Partners Department of Municipal Engineering,School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University,
Southeast University-Monash University Sponge City Joint Research Center
Taihu Lake, located at the south of Yangtze Delta region, is the third biggest fresh-water lake in China, which plays crucial role in drinking water supply for the surrounding cities, such as Wuxi, Suzhou, and Shanghai. It is also important in tourism, aquaculture, fisheries, and navigation. However, Lake Taihu has suffered increasingly from serious eutrophication as the economic boom and population surge in the basin.
Danjinlicao canal, historically working as food transporting course for hundreds of years, is in the middle of Yangtze River and Taihu Lake. The flow direction of the canal depends on the water level of Yangtze and Taihu.
The prosperity of the canal has gradually vanished as the transport means shift since 1990s. The canal now suffers severe water pollution issues.
The research project aims to investigate the pollution sources of Danjinlicao (丹金溧漕) watershed so as to bring up water quality management measures under the umbrella of Taihu Lake Basin environmental protection planning.
The research underwent the following steps:
1. Preliminary seminars: discuss with International experts on research approach and rough ideas based on existing data;
2. Water quality monitoring;
3. Field trip for data collection, including land-use data, agri-/aqua- industry conditions, conditions of existing water treatment infrastructures;
4. Analysis of pollution sources of each small tributary watershed (by administrative divide);
5. Proposal of decentralised solutions for small watersheds;
6. The overall pollution loads to Danjinlicao and comprehensive solutions based on water quality simulations.
Danjinlicao watershed
The three urbanised areas the canal runs through
Water quality of the canal
Water quality monitoring results indicate worst part is located in Jintan (金坛) area, where local (agri-/aquatic) industries may be great contributors to water pollution. Further investigations calls for data collection in each administrative village.
Personally I travelled to Zhiqian Village to collect and analyse data. Some results were re-visulised and are demonstrated below.
Landuse of Zhiqian Village
Water system of Zhiqian Village
Pollution sources of Zhiqian Village
The primary pollution sources in Zhiqian Village are agricultural non-point source pollution, rural domestic sewage, industrial pollution, water discharged from wastewater treatment plants.
The urgent issues for Zhiqian Village are:
1. The wastewater treatment facilities in most natural villages are insufficient; only Qingshuidu and Xinhe villages have centralised sewage treatment facilities;
2. There is a large amount of farmland in the upper reaches of Danjin River, with a large amount of pesticides and fertilisers used; In the rainy season, pollutants were flushed into the river;
3. Only two factories in Zhiqian have wastewater treatment facilities, and other planned sewage treatment plants are not yet in place.
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