The project in Henan Province is one of the first to address urbanrural water links under the Chinese government’s rural vitalization strategy.
“Providing people with clean water to drink and simultaneously protecting the environment so clean water is available for future generations is a complex problem that many riverfront cities in China and other parts of Asia and the Pacific are increasingly having to face,” ADB Senior Water Resources Specialist for East Asia Rabindra Osti said Wednesday. “We’re hopeful that this project will show a way to restore the health of economically and ecologically important water systems like the Tuan River in Dengzhou City.”
Dengzhou City, a county-level city, is fast urbanizing but is surrounded by nearby farmland. The Tuan River, which runs through the city, is heavily polluted due to a lack of wastewater and solid waste management both in urban and rural areas. Groundwater, which serves as drinking water for urban and rural areas, is highly contaminated by the pollutants from the Tuan River as well as the use of fertilizer on the farmland. In the ten years from 2008 to 2018, this contributed to 300,000 cases of waterborne diseases, mainly among women and children. At the same time, riverbank erosion and the disappearance of wetlands and drainage channels are exacerbating the river environment degradation and causing increased flooding in the city.
Improving the river will also mean cleaner water for people living much further away. The Dengzhou City area is one source of water for management facilities in both rural and urban areas. It will also restore wetlands and demonstrate best practices in soil and water conservation through planting bushes and vegetation to reduce water pollution. It will improve the capacity of the local government to manage water resources in a coordinated manner through better research and development, real-time river health monitoring, and community-based watershed management.
The total cost of the project is $423.12 million, with the government of China contributing $223.12 million in financing. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
