Yichang leads water conservation efforts in China

By Tan Maolin, Yichang International Communication Studio

Yichang is committed to building a model city for Yangtze River preservation and is at the forefront of water conservation initiatives. Data shows that Yichang can save more than 42 million cubic meters of water resources annually through the use of recycled water, which is equivalent to three times the amount of water in Hangzhou’s West Lake.

Creating a water-saving city is an important factor in the implementation of sustainable development strategies. In recent years, efforts have been made to conserve water in cities across China and the number of national water-saving cities reached 145, including Yichang, which was awarded the title in 2019.

The national evaluation team reviewed Yichang’s construction of a national water-saving city recently and praised the "Yichang Model.”

First - utilizing industrial water is crucial to Yichang's intensive use of water resources.

A large number of vehicles transporting sand and gravel materials need to be washed every day at the Yichang Xindaxing Concrete company. The company implemented the sand and gravel separation system, where separated waste slurry is filtered out from the clean water through the use of a filter press. This water is then used to clean the equipment again, realizing the recycling of water resources at the cleaning site. A seven-stage sedimentation and recycling reservoir collects sewage from the washing station and ground. The wastewater is settled into reusable water for production. Xindaxing's annual water consumption has now reached about 130,000 tons, 80 percent of which comes from recycled water, saving approximately 400,000 yuan (55,470 dollars) in annual costs.

Yichang CSG Polysilicon company’s wastewater treatment technology was patented. The treated sewage is used for fish farming and watering, and the average annual drainage is only 28 percent of total water consumption.

Second - domestic wastewater from Yichang’s urban areas is reused in production.

Thousands of tons of domestic sewage are discharged from the urban area of Yichang every day. As the largest sewage treatment plant in Yichang, Linjiangxi Sewage Treatment Plant is capable of treating 300,000 tons of urban sewage each day, and is mainly responsible for sewage treatment in the central urban areas of Yichang City.

The purified sewage is used for river recharge or municipal water such as greening, cleaning, firefighting and industrial production.

Even the sludge produced in the purification process can be used in the production of building materials, which not only realizes the purpose of water conservation, but also reduces the production cost of enterprises.

Third - with the construction of sponge city, rainwater is turned into treasure.

At the Yichang Olympic Sports Center, seven ponds collect rainwater from roofs, squares, roads, and green spaces, which is then used for green plant maintenance and road watering.

With the implementation of water-saving technology reform, Angel Yeast saves about 550,000 tons of water annually, and has become the drafting unit of the national water consumption quota for the yeast manufacturing industry.

In Yichang Ouyada building materials market, sanitary ware sales stores have installed under-the-counter cistern recycling devices.

In Yichang, water-saving awareness has permeated people's lives.

Yichang has achieved an around 91 percent reuse rate of industrial water and has regulated the daily per capita living water consumption of urban residents to 165.18 liters until now, making the various selection indexes meet the full requirements of the national standard for selection of water-saving cities.