Well-off this year | Water system governance Jiangnan small village environment "butterfly change"

At the beginning of December, under the warm winter sun, Shangshui Village in Taoxin Town, Wanlan District, Wuhu City, is particularly quiet and comfortable, with a breeze blowing through the village and the small river passing through the village clear to the bottom, with layers of ripples. Elderly people gather in the shade of trees to enjoy tea, chess and homely conversations, and children play happily in the leisure and fitness square.

"Old Dai, the environment is very good recently, you also rest, don't get too tired!" The white-haired old man playing chess greeted a familiar old man. The old man, known as "Lao Dai", is Dai Haihai, a 71-year-old villager in Shangshui Village, and also the "folk river chief" of the village.

In the face of the concern of the neighbors, "Lao Dai" just smiled, in his view, "river patrol" is a responsibility, must always adhere to.

In the early years, Shangshui Village was not like this. The total area of only about 1500 acres of Shangshui Village, a river through the village, the village water network is dense, the water system is abundant, but in order to pursue economic interests, every household in almost all the waters of the village frequently develop aquaculture, feed residues and livestock excrement, resulting in water pollution. At the same time, the villagers are also accustomed to washing rice and washing vegetables and washing yarn in the pond.

"A lot of people threw dirty things into the river, and there was a lot of 'back water' in the ditches and ponds in the village at that time." Dai Haishui recalled the previous environment and said.

The transformation of the environment stems from the implementation of the river chief system. In the face of the Jiangnan region, where there are many rivers and lakes, wide lines and difficulties in management, it is not difficult for rivers and lakes to protect the environment. There are 20 large and small rivers in Wanlan District of Wuhu City, with a total length of 280 kilometers, which is a typical Jiangnan water network polder area. In order to properly manage such a large area of water, it is necessary to establish and improve the organizational system of three-level river and lake chiefs and give full play to the key role of "people".

As early as 2016, Wuhu Wanlan District (then Wuhu County) established the goal of "three water co-governance" of clearing the river water, treating sewage and purifying pond water, implemented the river chief system, and promoted the protection of the ecological water environment under the principle of "problem-oriented, one-matter-one policy, territorial responsibility, multi-party linkage, strengthened supervision, and participation of the whole people". In 2017, Dai Haishui also signed up to become a "folk river chief".

In the early years, the villagers did not understand, thinking that this old dai was "dead brain" and "nosy", and even his family felt that he was doing "undesirable" things. But Dai Haihai insisted on river patrol and insisted on patiently explaining the importance of protecting the water environment.

"I persuaded them to pay attention to methods, for example, they pay attention to their own interests, I told them about the relationship between the water environment and human health, so that they knew that polluting the water in front of their homes would also affect the health of their families." Dai Haishui talked about his "river cruise" with a lot of experience.

At the same time as the establishment of the river chief system, a large-scale treatment of small and micro water bodies in rural areas has also begun. In the above water villages, for example, the villagers raised funds and labor, built ecological ditches, opened up rivers and ponds around the village, and built bridges, set up culverts, and dredged ditches, and made the water system of the whole village more active and smooth. At the same time, the introduction of a solar micro-power pumping station has raised the water level and realized the perennial flow of the water system.

In The treated Shangshui Village, all ditches have been planted with a rich variety of aquatic plants, and aquatic animals such as koi, river mussels and snails have been stocked, and the water quality has been purified by ecological methods.

Wild fish and turtles that have not been seen for many years swim back into the water, a variety of water birds fly to the field, and a variety of shellfish appear in the water. Villagers can also walk and play by the ditch and pond, presenting a picture of ecological civilization with clear water and beautiful scenery.

"Before, the water was smelly, and I didn't dare to open the window on hot days. Now the pond is cleaner, the environment is better, and there are many foreign tourists! Villager Xi Guixiang said happily.

The villagers did not expect that the "good environment" they saw and said in their mouths attracted their popularity and benefits. Taoxin Town, where Shangshui Village is located, relies on the water system in Wei, adjusts the planting structure, changes to lotus flowers, lotus seeds, etc., develops the lotus industry, and increases the average income of 3,000 yuan per mu, and the Taoxin Water Conservancy Scenic Area has ranked among the national water conservancy scenic spots, with an annual income of nearly 50 million yuan. In October last year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment named Wanlan District as the fourth batch of national "green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains" practice and innovation bases.

"Everyone benefits from a good environment; everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment." Guarding this environment of my home is my 'original intention'." Dai Haishui said that he, the "river chief", would continue to work until the day he could not move.

Sheung Shui Village, just a microcosm. The in-depth promotion of the river and lake length system in our province has made the water ecological environment in many places "butterfly change". Under the insistence of more than 50,000 river and lake chiefs in the province, a network of responsibilities for rivers and lakes is densely woven layer by layer, and the picture of rivers and lakes with "smooth rivers, clear water, green shores, beautiful scenery, and people" is slowly unfolding.

【Source: Anhui Daily Client】