River Governors Contribute to River Clean-Up Project

By Ding Shan

River Governors Contribute to River Clean-Up Project

By Ding Shan

鄭仕強（前）在治水現場。Zheng Shiqiang （front）， governor of Airport River North， and his colleagues are on an inspection tour along the river in his charge.

曾經勾連從大運河到西湖去游覽的西溪河，被整治一新。　（小五　攝）West Stream River， which once connected the Grand Canal and the West Lake， looks brand new after a comprehensive clean-up project.

In November 2013， Hangzhou launched a responsibility system for cleansing its polluted 47 rivers that crisscross the city. As one of the key measures adopted to assure the success of the river project， 2，659 people were appointed river governors at the city， county， town and village levels. Most of them are responsible for local sections of a river. Altogether they are held accounta-ble for the success or failure of the project. Over the past three years， these governors have worked to clean up the sections assigned to them.

怡人如畫的橫一港（左上）、楊家墩河（右上）、新塘河（右下）、東新河。Rivers in Hangzhou look scenic again thanks to river governors and their clean-up projects.

河長公示牌向社會作責任承諾。The river governor's job description is on a public sign board for public review.

Chen Chanhu: Yangjiadun River

Yangjiadun Community is part of Puyan Neighborhood in Hangzhou. Within the zone of the community are six colleges and a shopping street. Chen is a local， witnessing how the river turned black as sewage was discharged into the river once upon a time. The appointment as a river-section governor made him very happy because it gave him an opportunity to do away with the mess personally. He did a thorough study to see how riverside restaurants and households discharged wastes into the river. He promoted practical measures to reduce the sewage discharge. As he knew what was wrong， those who discharged wastes responded effectively. This was a big part of the clean-up action. Yet some households dumped wastes into the river out of bad habits that had formed and taken hold over years. Chen talked to the residents and successfully persuaded them to dump bad habits and keep the river clean. After the river was dredged in 2014 and the shopping street dubbed as “Rubbish Street” was dismantled， the river is now cleaned up.

Wang Ren: Dongxi River

The 4，250-meter-long river in the eastern part of urban Hangzhou connects with Shangtang River and Beitang River at the two ends. The factories that once operated along the river banks used to dump their wastes into the river for a long time. Most of the factories were gone but the wastes remained when Wang， a key offcial of the Xiacheng District Government， became a river governor in April 2014. He did a thorough field study of the river， to diagnose the pollution situation and to fnd possible effective measures he could adopt. He walked the 4，250-meter river to and fro several times and came up with a plan. According to the plan， a two-month dredging project was launched. Illegal buildings were dismantled， landfills were removed，trees and fowers were planted， and a sewage discharging system was put into place. This clean-up action was successful. The river looks much improved. And an alert-system is now in place. The riverside institutions and residents are appointed to patrol the river section by section so that they can alert the government if anything happens. Wang himself patrols the river at regular intervals. The river is now under constant surveillance for water qualities. Cutting-edge technologies are used to restore the ecology of the river. Nowadays， Dongxin River is clean and clear and local residents love to hang out there.

Zheng Shiqiang: Airport River North

Zheng became a river governor in 2014. He was responsible for a 2，000-meter- long river section. The section in his charge is between Hengtang Community and Jianqiao Airport and it stank awful for years as no one was held accountable for pollution and everybody dumped things into the river. Zheng knew nothing about pollution control when he was appointed to chair the clean-up project for the section. What he did frst was to learn about everything possible about river administration. He attended training courses for river governors like him. He studied relevant laws and regulations. Through these studies， he got a general idea about what to do.

Then he got down to business seriously. Zheng and his colleagues are smart and creative. He frst cleaned up the riverbanks. In the second half of 2014， the illegal buildings along the riverbanks were dismantled and removed. Then the riverbanks were landscaped， the watercourse dredged and riverside footpaths built. In 2015， the sewage system was revamped and rearranged to stop all the discharge of wastes into the river. A sluice gate was installed between the Airport River North and Beitang River. The river section in his charge becomes a model for river clean-up projects.

In addition to the river governors who are government offcials， 56 Hangzhou residents are now serving as river governors. They are all volunteers. And they patrol the rivers diligently. Many locals volunteer to watch the rivers closely so as to keep them clean. The many-layered responsibility system designed to keep rivers clean and free from contamination works.