The Current State of Water Quality and Technology Development for Water Pollution Control in China

This paper summarizes and presents an overview of the current state of water pollution, as well as recent progress and the potential future development of water pollution control technology, in China. Although China has made significant strides in water environmental protection over the past decades, analysis reveals that water pollution in the nation is still not sufficiently controlled, with a number of surface waters currently suffering varying degrees of pollution. High nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in many great lakes have caused eutrophication problems, and the frequency of blue algal bloom has increased. Likewise, river pollution has not been effectively controlled. Nitrogen, phosphorous, organic compounds, and heavy metals are ubiquitous in China's rivers, with up to 80% of urban rivers contaminated to varying degrees—a situation that continues to deteriorate. Next, eutrophication has occurred in many large reservoirs, with numerous toxic substances negatively affecting water quality. Finally, over-exploitation has caused groundwater quality to deteriorate, and pollution from heavy metals, nitrates, fluorine, and random organic matter has become a primary water quality issue. To resolve these complex environmental problems, water pollution controls and quality improvement technologies have been rapidly developed in China in recent years. Ecological restoration, biological disposal, advanced chemical oxidation, high-efficiency adsorption, and flocculation technologies have been especially prominent in these efforts. Not only have these developments introduced practical innovation to the core technologies, they have also prioritized their systematic integration and application. In order to prevent and control the pollution of lakes and rivers, improve general water quality, and ensure the safety of drinking water supplies, China must perform systematic research on management, pollution control and treatment, ecological restoration, and related water treatment and purification technologies over the next 5 to 15 years through a series of major technology initiatives. These programs will supply the scientific foundation and technological support for achieving the optimum improvement of China's water quality.