Shandong's Wanfu River Allegedly Polluted; Local Environmental Bureau: On-Site Investigation Underway, Report Forthcoming

By Xie Yinzong, The Paper

An environmental blogger released an on-site investigation video on the morning of June 21, alleging that the Wanfu River in Jinxiang County, Jining City, Shandong Province has been severely polluted. Some sections of the river were as black as ink, with fish, shrimp, snails, and mussels reportedly dying off.

A duty officer at the Jinxiang County branch of the Jining Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment told The Paper at noon on June 21 that after receiving the report, law enforcement officers went to the site early that morning to conduct an investigation and verify the situation. The relevant findings will be published online in due course.

Video footage released by the blogger "Yu Lie Qi Ge" showed that they conducted their on-site investigation of the river pollution on the morning of June 20. Video material indicated that the pollution originated from the western side of Wanfu River, with the polluted water flowing from west to east.

Public records show that Wanfu River is a tributary of the Nansi Lake system (comprising Weishan Lake, Zhaoyang Lake, Dushan Lake, and Nanyang Lake) in the southwestern part of Shandong Province within the Huai River basin.

According to the blogger's on-site verification, the source of the pollution was located in an industrial park in Jinxiang County, where the water at the source was pitch black and emitted a pungent odor.

"Yu Lie Qi Ge" told The Paper on June 21 that on the afternoon of June 20, he and another environmental blogger "Xiang Zai Bao Bao" followed the polluted water and found the suspected source of the black sewage in the industrial park. Video released by "Xiang Zai Bao Bao" showed that in the industrial park, the foul-smelling black sewage had submerged multiple sections of roads within the park.

After completing the on-site investigation, "Yu Lie Qi Ge" reported the matter to the ecological and environmental authorities.

On the morning of June 21, a duty officer at the Jinxiang County branch of the Jining Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment told The Paper that their law enforcement officers had gone to the site early that morning for verification and investigation. As for the specific findings, the officer said they were not immediately available but confirmed that a public report would be issued online.

Originally published by The Paper (澎湃新闻)