Yellow River pollution and environmental impacts

Yellow River Pollution

A report published by Terra Daily (2006) reports that the famous Yellow River of China "is becoming more polluted, with water flow dropping despite billions of tons of waste being pumped into it…" The largest part of the discharge is reported to be coming from factories in China and the discharge increased "by 88 million tons from 2004, and more than 66% of the water in the river was unfit for drinking." (Terra Daily, 2006) According to officials, "excessive exploitation of the river's water resources had resulted in lower sections totally drying up on more than 1,000 days between 1972 and 1999." (Terra Daily, 2006)

Another source reports that in 1972 that the Yellow River, for the first time in the recorded history of China had "dried up in patches and failed to reach the sea." (Time World, 2006) It is reported that while the central government in China has "…prioritized cleaning up its polluted rivers and has pledged vast sums for the purpose -- one plan is to flush the Yellow with water diverted from the cleaner Yangtze -- enforcement of environmental laws at the local level remains spotty at best. Local government officials often have a stake in the very factories responsible for the pollution." (Time World, 2006)

II. Pollution Causes

It is reported in the China Daily edition of March 11, 2010 that the government of Xian and Xianyang, two of China's Shaanxi Province, major cities in the northwest of China, have been fined 500,000 or $73,500 for having polluted a tributary of the Yellow River, the second longest waterway in China, according to an environmental watchdog. The city governments are to be fined for "excessive discharges that cause a rise in 'chemical oxygen demand' (COD) -- a measure of the amount of oxygen consumed in the chemical reactions in water as a result of pollution." (China Daily, 2010)

Gifford (2007) reports that by the time the Yellow River reaches the city of Lanzhou in northwest Gansu Province, the water is reported to be a "muddy brown color, having picked up soil, silt and industrial waste." Lanzhou is reported to be among the top 20 cities in the world that are the most polluted and it is reported to be the result of "…decades of extraordinary economic growth." (Gifford, 2007)

III. Pollution Harms

It is reported that the stream two hours downstream from Lanzhou, near the factories and smelters in the industrial city of Baiyin, flows into a small tributary and then flows into the Yellow River directly. It is stated that here "suspended in the filthy water amid the sounds and smells of the industrial revolution, are some of the biggest questions facing modern China: Can the country maintain double-digit economic growth without destroying the natural environment? And is the blowback from industrialization starting to negate the very real economic progress?" (Gifford, 2007)

It is reported by China.org that the pollution of the Yellow River is making more than 66% of the water unfit for drinking as "only 33.3% of the water is category 3 -- okay for drinking, aquatic breeding, fisheries or swimming, down from 40% in the 1990s…" (China, org, 2006) It is reported that in excess of 73% of the wastewater is that which factories discharged up 298 million tons from the previous year. (China.org, 2006, paraphrased) Another result of the pollution is the decrease in the water flow of the Yellow River.

The Environmental News Network reports stating the fact that China is presently facing "…a severe water crisis -- 300 million people do not have access to drinkable water -- and the government has been spending heavily to clean major waterways like the Yellow, Huaihe, and Yangtze rivers. But those clean-up campaigns have made limited progress because of spotty regional enforcement and uncooperative industry." (2005) In a study reported in the work of Lu, ET al (2008) it is stated that a study of the Yellow River Basin including 13228.4 miles of waterway revealed the following pollutants in the waterway: "COD, ammonia nitrogen, permanganate index, BOD5, and volatile." (p.2) According to Lu, et al. (2008) "It is estimated that in China, the supply of drinking water for 70% of the total population and more than 95% of the rural population comes from groundwater. More than 400 cities use groundwater; in fact, in some cities, groundwater becomes an exclusive water supply source. The water quality of shallow and deep groundwater showed an aggravated trend in 21 of 125 cities. This pattern also occurred in 12 of 75 cities involved in the 2006 monitoring." (p.2) Watts (2011) reports that cancer rates have surged in China due to the chemical factories disposing of carcinogens in the water supply. phenol etc." (p.1)

IV. Importance of Clean Water

It is necessary that considerations for clean water be coordinated and balanced between protection of the environment and development of China's economy. This will require an improvement of awareness of environmental protection measures. NPR news reports on the situation and states as follows:

"The word harmony has been used as part of a widespread government propaganda campaign to talk about the balance it is trying to encourage between winners and losers of the economic boom, between the new industrialized cities and the still-undeveloped countryside, and between economic development and environmental sustainability. But places like Wuhai, Baiyin and Lanzhou call into question whether the contradictions facing China, especially the environmental ones, are becoming too great -- and whether the development that is strengthening China is also threatening the country's future." (NPR News, 2007)