Class II surface water, can we swim in the “Internet celebrity” Xiaolong River?
2024-08-13
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Xiaolong River in Nanyuan Forest Wetland Park is a place where people can enjoy swimming, paddle boarding, diving and other sports. It has become a new popular check-in spot and is also called the "Seine River" in Nancheng by netizens. Many citizens are very satisfied with this free waterfront, but some people question whether the water in Xiaolong River is clean.
Many citizens swim in Xiaolong River every day. Photo by Zhang YuAccording to a previous report by Beijing Daily, the Xiaolong River section is reclaimed water, which is not suitable for direct contact with the skin, and it is not recommended for citizens and tourists to swim in it. As treated sewage, reclaimed water cannot be guaranteed to be free of harmful substances. If the human body is in contact with or immersed in such water for a long time, it may cause discomfort symptoms such as sore eyes.
Some netizens found on the official website of Beijing Water Authority that the surface water quality monitoring results of Xiaolong River in July were Class II. According to the "Surface Water Environmental Quality Standards", Class II is mainly applicable to the first-level protection areas of centralized drinking water surface water sources, habitats of rare aquatic organisms, spawning grounds for fish and shrimp, and feeding grounds for fry and young fish. Therefore, netizens judged that the water here is clean and safe for swimming.
The Xiaolong River flows through Fengtai and Daxing districts. The official website of the Municipal Water Affairs Bureau shows that the water quality of the Xiaolong River in July was Class II surface water.Why are the water quality judgments for the same area so different? Can you swim in Xiaolong River? A staff member of the municipal water affairs department said that the water of Xiaolong River is reclaimed water, which is mainly determined by the sewage treatment plant. Reclaimed water can only meet Class IV standards and is suitable for general industrial water use areas and recreational water use areas where the human body does not directly contact it. The results announced on the official website of the Water Affairs Bureau were jointly tested by the Beijing Water Affairs Bureau and the Ecological Environment Bureau. Only four items, namely dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), were tested. They are mainly used to determine whether the river is polluted, which is the minimum standard. If the indicators are abnormal, more items will be tested. Therefore, even if the test result is Class II, the possibility of infection with pathogens cannot be ruled out. "At present, there are no official documents or standards that can be used to determine whether open waters are safe and hygienic for citizens to carry out underwater activities. Therefore, it is not recommended for citizens to swim in the river section. Moreover, it is the flood season, and from a safety perspective, it is not recommended for citizens to carry out activities such as swimming in the river."
