Sewage treatment fees to rise

　　GUANGZHOU and Shenzhen will be allowed to charge higher fees for sewage disposal to deal with increased pressure on sewage treatment plants.Only 30.61 percent of the province’s entire waste water can be treated, which is below the national average ratio of 34.25 percent. The fee increase rate will be decided after hearings in the two cities which will also decide a date for the introduction of the new fees.

　　Meanwhile, authorities are also considering raising the fee above 0.3 yuan which is now the maximum for the province.Of the 51 cities in Guangdong Province, only 15 have waste water treatment facilities. This means more than 80 percent of the province’s sewage is discharged directly into rivers, causing serious pollution posing a health hazard to water supply systems. This has forced some cities to locate their water sources far from urban areas.The provincial government has urged local governments to speed up building sewage treatment plants and set deadlines to treat 40 percent of the wastewater by 2005 and no less than 60 percent by 2010. Private and foreign investors are being encouraged to invest in sewage treatment facilities.In 1999, provincial authorities gave the nod to local governments to charge 0.15 to 0.30 yuan per ton of wastewater. While 28 cities have yet to start collecting the fee, some are charging much lower than 0.15 yuan. A provincial government source expressed disapproval of the practice saying it was not a good way to enhance the public’s environmental awareness.(Wu Yan)