The pollution control over the Songhua River has been listed as a key project for China alongside the "three rivers (the Huaihe, Haihe and Liaohe) and three lakes (the Taihu, Dianchi and Chaohu)" areas.

The plan for the control during the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010) period has been basically worked out. This was learned from a conference on water pollution control in the Songhua River Valley held by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) Saturday in Beijing.

This marks a new stage has been ushered in for the overall control work of the river.

After the Songhua River pollution accident, the Chinese government paid great attention to it and adopted a series of major measures, said Zhou Shengxian, director of SEPA.

Firstly, emphasis was placed on monitoring the river to ensure safe drinking water for people living in the valley of the river. The second step is to be an overall evaluation of the water pollution and the river's ecological environment, which is underway. The third step is to do a good job on the overall plan of the river's water pollution prevention and control.

By People's Daily Online