We need clean water
WEN Junhao is a college student from Liuyang, Hunan. The 22-year-old remembers that when he was young, he often went to his cousin's home. There is a river nearby. He and his cousin swam or caught fish in the river.
But later a
paper mill (造纸厂) was built beside the river. The factory put hot and
foamy (泡沫的) wastewater in it. Soon, the river began to smell bad. The fish were gone, and you couldn't swim in it anymore.
"Fortunately, the paper mill stopped working five years ago," said Wen. "The government said it polluted the river too much."
Wen's hometown was lucky. But water pollution is still a serious problem in China. A recent report says that about 320 million people in China, most of them farmers, can't get safe water.
The report says that 96 percent of villages use rivers as open sewers (下水道). And 89 percent of villages throw their trash into or around them.
The report also says that most pollution comes from factories. Many factories don't want to spend money on green technology. They pollute rivers with dangerous
chemicals (化学品).
The government says that laws about water protection will be passed at the end of this year.
The laws will call on all the companies to reuse wastewater. Those who don't will be fined. In the past, the biggest fine was 200,000 yuan. But when the new laws are passed, polluters will be fined daily until they put the problem right.
