Solving the Problem of Water Pollution in Pearl River Delta

The water pollution in the Pearl River Delta has become a serious problem because there was a lack of resources and maintenance done to prevent mass amounts of trash and chemicals from being dumped in the water.The river is located in South Chinas Guangdong province. In 1980 the population in the province grew significantly due to large inflows of foreign investment due to low value- added manufacturing. The increase of business lead to increase in population and that took a toll on the environment in multiple aspects. Investments in environmental protection couldn’t keep up with the pace of the rapid economic advances going on during the time, which lead to the third longest river in China becoming heavily polluted with chemicals and sewage.  The pollution worsened so much the surface water quality was worse than the lowest national quality standard leading to the water not being suitable for a reliable drinking source by the residents of that area. How will we teach future generations to care for and maintain our current and future water sources? Solutions for the crisis would be to eliminate all waste and chemicals in the water at the moment and upgrade water and maintenance resources to ensure the problem will not be an issue again. The Pearl River Delta has endured a lot of serious problems but it’s never too late to turn things around and get back to a healthy flowing environment for a better tomorrow.

Background on the Root of the Issue

In order to start solving the problem the root of it must first be identified. The increase in population and business they were producing significant amounts of waste with nowhere to put it. The waste management tools required were not able to handle the mass loads of waste being put on them and China’s government was not funding them properly to make the advancements needed to keep up with the evolving world around them. There was a lack in supervision and policy so no one was there to put a stop to this because lawmakers weren’t aware of the bigger problems that were going to come with all this trash in the water. They didn’t see the fault in their doing which is why the problem got out of hand. There needed to be more action taken by the community and other big corporations to stop this dumping into the river. Domestic sewage is the main contributor to the pollution in the river. These big industries are starting to leave the province because the water is so bad and isn’t suitable for good business. Although companies can change locations less fortunate families and other community members without water are stuck there to try and survive these harsh conditions. These big industries and rising population are the blame and need to come together as a whole and stop dumping in the water and start increasing efforts to decrease sewage to put an end to this pollution.

Connection of bad tools and rise in pollution

This problem arose because of a lack in the proper tools needed to keep the water clean. Over the years of the province growing in population the waste and water resources were somewhat pushed to the side in order to care for the rise in business and that was a costly mistake. The little money they put towards the businesses could’ve improved their resources enough to keep the water from getting to current state that it is in. There was not much that could be done with insufficient funds and trash and water resources. The rise in business came out of nowhere because the land was once a quiet place until corporations found out it was valuable. These businesses coming in and making drastic changes to way life was lived there lead to the fall in infrastructure and funding falling behind what it needed to be to upgrade tools and resources required to keep the water clean. State of the art tools are not required but the tools being used were so out of date they could not keep up with the loads of waste being produced. A vital tool that can detect somatic coli, a chemical found in fecal pollution in water is bluephage. With that tool scientist can determine the percentage and location of pollution in the water to eliminate it. Significant increase in population because of the rise in business lead to an abundant increase in waste. The big corporations were dumping significant amounts of sewage because they was no other place to due to lack of preparation for the rise in business. The waste management resources were the main reason the companies turned to the river for dumping and they didn’t have money to upgrade those assets to they fell behind. Upgrading the resources to deal with the current population and domestic sewage will lead to a decrease in water pollution and resources that can keep up with the future problems that may arise.

Impact of the pollution

The pollution effects more than just the community and people, it takes a toll on the ecosystem as a whole. This province of China was once known for its beautiful environment and smooth flowing ecosystem. That was until the big dark business came and took over as they always do. This small province was not prepared for the world of business to take over as it was used to its small manageable businesses it already had trouble maintaining and then adding the new ones to the plate was a mass overload. The pollution lead to a disruption in the ecological function of the freshwater ecosystems. That disruption lead to a loss in biodiversity which is very important for current and future life in the environment. Around three-hundred eighty one species of freshwater fish relied on the Pearl River Delta for a home. Around ninety two of those species face extinction and that number is steadily rising. That is a significant loss of life for an already small province, that would disrupt the equilibrium of many lifeforms and the possible future ones to come but will not be due to chemicals killing off their predecessors The pollution is a serious threat to the flow alterations, habitat change and degradation. Those problems have a huge disturbance to ecologically sensitive habitats. The environment has taken a serious loss because of the pollution but once it’s removed life should exceed what it once was and flow smoothly again.

The pollution has taken a huge toll on many families and small businesses because they are out a water source. The river was vital because for some it was the only way they could get their water and now that it is polluted they are out of luck and have no reliable source for even a glass of water. That problem is affecting families all over the province as they have no clean running water to use for showers or even to brush their teeth. Small businesses are also running out of options as they lose business due to significant decrease in population and lacking a major resource needed to run many operations, water. These corporations responsible for the pollution didn’t care as they were chasing money and not worried about the repercussions for their actions of polluting such an important water source. Now the pressure is on the residents of the province to fix the water the companies didn’t care to fill with loads of waste.

The pollution in the Pearl River Delta has become a serious crisis to the population and environment all around but it is not too late to reap what has been sown. First thing that needs to be taken care of is the out of date resources and tools needed to maintain the waste and water. The old tools can’t properly monitor the levels of waste and chemicals being dumped into the river. With new tools the waste can be eliminated and properly monitored for the future. Ensuring that the big companies and corporations find a new place for their waste is also key to fixing the issue.

That is linked to updating waste management tools and keeping them well maintained for future generations to come. Teaching the youth early how important maintaining water quality is will go a long because they will keep it clean as it is a vital drinking source. With their advanced technology and ways of life it’s guaranteed to have its balance restored as long as it’s well maintained. They will learn a valuable lesson from their parents and past generations that the water is crucial to the environment and life as a whole. They will ensure it never gets as bad as it was before and take keeping it clean to a new level as they are aware of what is was like when it was bad. The water pollution has reached its all-time worse which means it’s only up from there and current and future generations must ensure this issue will never arise again.