Stage four of Suzhou Creek rehabilitation in full swing

The stage four of the Suzhou Creek rehabilitation project started in full swing, Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang announced on December 30. As a major environmental protection and investment project in the city, it marks a new stage in city’s comprehensive treatment of its mother river Suzhou Creek.

The rehabilitation project is aimed to improve the water quality of the creek and its flood prevention performance. It will also make the waterfront of the creek a more eco-friendly and user-friendly space. 

Suzhou Creek covers an area of 855 square kilometres and flows through 12 districts as well as 2,012 branch waterways across the city. The city has carried out three stages of rehabilitation projects to treat the water of the creek since 1990s.

The rehabilitation has so significantly improved the water environment of the creek that the main stream of the creek is no more black or malodorous.

The Shanghai government has invested over 25 billion yuan (US$ 3.6 billion) in the fourth stage of the project.

According to the project plan, by 2020, the creek will clean up all polluted waters rated at 5 — water so polluted it can't be used and is even ugly to look at. Meanwhile, the transporting function of the creek will improve and the levees built alongside it will be consolidated.

Ying Yong, mayor of Shanghai, said the Suzhou Creek rehabilitation is the most important project among the city's water environment treatments.

The fourth stage of the rehabilitation is vital to the city's campaign to fight pollution, Ying said.

While treating the water, the pollution source from river banks should not be overlooked, Ying said. The rehabilitation will focus on both the main and branch streams of the creek to achieve a comprehensive improvement the water environment of the creek.

The rehabilitation project will also take into consideration the multi-functional infrastructure development that cut through the two sides of Suzhou Creek.

Along with the grand opening of the waterfront of Huangpu River, the two waterways will shine through the city and add more flavour to the people's daily lives.

The dredging and levee construction project of Suzhou Creek’s segment between Zhenbei Road and Wenzaobang River also started on December 30. It is the key project of the stage four rehabilitation.

According to the project, the dredging of the segment of Suzhou Creek will clear out sludge covering over 1.72 million cubic meters of water and modify more than 30 kilometers of levees along the creek to make them firmer.

After it’s done in 2020, the water quality and flood control capacity of the creek as well as the environment around the area will be improved.