China's wastewater discharge standards in urbanization - Springer Link

Environ Sci Pollut Res (2012) 19:1422–1431 DOI 10.1007/s11356-011-0572-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

China’s wastewater discharge standards in urbanization Evolution, challenges and implications Wen-Wei Li & Guo-Ping Sheng & Raymond J. Zeng & Xian-Wei Liu & Han-Qing Yu

Received: 25 May 2011 / Accepted: 12 July 2011 # Springer-Verlag 2011

Abstract Background and purpose China's environmental problems and pollution control have global implications. China’s water pollution has been increasing with its urbanization and industrialization. Although great efforts have been taken to keep its wastewater discharge standards in pace with the water pollution development and technological advances, many challenges remain. A summary of the past achievements and lessons as well as the current problems in water pollution may provide a basis for future improvements in China and a reference for other countries. Methods Statistical data are summarized to reveal the evolution of China’s population, wastewater discharge and corresponding discharge standards over the past four decades. In particular, the specific control indexes and number of controlled items are discussed in details. The present water pollution situation is clearly illustrated by the water pollution map and the water quality distribution diagram. A comparison between China’s present wastewater discharge standards and those in the USA and the EU are also presented to find the possibilities for future improvement. Results The historical origins, major challenges and future perspectives of China’s wastewater discharge standards are overviewed. The barriers and ongoing efforts for standards Responsible editor: Hailong Wang W.-W. Li : G.-P. Sheng : R. J. Zeng : X.-W. Liu : H.-Q. Yu Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China G.-P. Sheng (*) Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemistry University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China e-mail: [email protected]

formulation and implementation are highlighted. Some suggestions for future endeavors are given. Conclusions China’s wastewater discharge standard system has seen significant improvement over the past decades, but it still has many defects and limitations. Nonetheless, unprecedented great efforts are underway to address all these challenges. More stringent standards and subsequently a cleaner water environment in China can be expected in the near future. Keywords Wastewater . Discharge standards . Evolution . China . Urbanization . Industrial

1 Introduction With the world’s largest population and a huge industrial system, China has undergone an unprecedented and incomparable process of rapid urbanization and industrialization. However, behind the striking achievements in social and economic development has been a complex and ever-worsening water pollution (Cheng et al. 2009; Fu et al. 2007; He et al. 2011; Shao et al. 2006; Varis and Vakkilainen 2001). China has its unique characteristics of water pollution and has been dedicated to explore a path of pollution control. Despite the many failures and painful costs incurred during this exploration (Shao 2010; Wang et al. 2006, 2008), China has been learning lessons from its own practices and the experiences from other countries, and has been unshakably moving toward a “green” future (Zhang et al. 2010; Zhang and Wen 2008). Legislations and standards are important in the fight against water pollution. Despite of the ever-deteriorating water environment quality in China over the past decades, efforts have never been ceased to put the water

Environ Sci Pollut Res (2012) 19:1422–1431

2 Historic evolution of China’s wastewater discharge standards during urbanization

1600

(a)

Rural Urban

1400 1200

Population (million)

pollution under control (Wang and Lin 2010; Wang 2010; Wu et al. 2010; Zhang et al. 2007). In an effort to keep pace with the social and economic development and reflect the updated environmental requirements and technological advances, China’s wastewater discharge standards have undergone several large adjustments over the past four decades. However, being limited by the current monitoring capability, technological level and management system, there are still problems for the formulation and implementation of wastewater discharge standards (Wu et al. 2010; Yang and Liu 2010; Zhang and Wen 2008). Moreover, notwithstanding the increasingly stringent regulations on pollutant discharge, some old environmental problems remain, while new challenges keep emerging. The rapid urbanization and industrialization are also put increasing pressure on the frail water environments and the discharge standards seem to always lag behind (Jiang 2009; Varis and Vakkilainen 2001). So far, literature related to China’s water environmental challenges and policy changes is still scattered. In this review, we focus on the wastewater discharge standards. We outline the evolution of China’s wastewater discharge standards during its fast urbanization in the past four decades, and highlight the present challenges and discuss the future implications. Due to its large size, China’s water pollution poses significant impacts on the rest of the world. Moreover, the challenges and opportunities, successes and failures in water pollution control encountered by China all have huge global implications (Liu and Raven 2010). In particular, valuable experiences and lessons can be borrowed by other developing countries that are following “China’s development mode”. Therefore, a better understanding of the evolution and challenges of China’s wastewater discharge standards would be helpful for the experts worldwide to give constructive suggestions on China’s water environmental protection policies, and for the other countries to reference when establishing their own wastewater discharge management systems.

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1000 800 600 400 200 0 70

(b)

Industrial wastewater Domestic sewage

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Year Fig. 1 Evolution of a urban and rural population, b wastewater discharge volume in China during 1978–2010 (NBSPRC 1978–2010, 2005)

wastewater discharge and raised environmental concerns, which has stimulated the need for pollution control. In 1973, China released its first environmental protection standard, Industrial Wastes Discharge Standards (for Trial Implementation) (GBJ 4–73), which set limits on 19 categories of major industrial water pollutants including heavy metals, phenols and cyanide (Fig. 1). In 1979, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (for Trial Implementation) was enacted, which became the fundamental of environmental protection policies at that time. 2.2 Development in 1980s

2.1 Initiation in 1970s China has been an agricultural-type society for a long time. However, the urban population started to grow dramatically only since the launch of economic reforms in 1978. As shown in Fig. 1a, the percentage of urban population increased rapidly from 17.92% to 19.37% in only 2 years according to the data of National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSPRC 1978–2010, 2005). The rapid industrialization and urbanization in China has led to increased

China’s urbanization further accelerated in 1980s (Song and Ding 2007). The urban population surged to 1127.04 million by the end of 1989 (NBSPRC 1978–2010), accounting for 26.21% of the total population in the world (Fig. 1a). China’s industry also witnessed a fast growth in this era, and industrial pollution problems started to emerge. China promulgated a series of industrial wastewater discharge standards in the 1980s. Overall, 31 industry standards involving steel, chemistry, metallurgy and other

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industries were released. Meanwhile, China’s earliest water quality standards, Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB 3838–83) and Environmental Water Quality Standard for Sea Water (GB 3097–82), came into being. The surface waters and sea water were divided into five and four functional categories, respectively, based on their water quality, planning targets and current use. Accordingly, the first general water pollutant discharge standard, Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard (GB 8978–88), was released in 1988, and the formal Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China was enacted in 1989. This new discharge standard (GB 8978–88) had many amendments from the Industrial Wastes Discharge Standards in terms of application coverage, control items and implementation form (Fig. 2): (1) The application coverage was expanded from sole industrial pollution source to all wastewater discharging units, the municipal sewage and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent were put under control for the first time. (2) In an effort to turn the water quality standards into enforceable criteria, a threegrade discharge standard system was established in accordance with the establishing time of the treatment facilities

and the water quality of receiving water body (Fig. 2a). (3) It sets the total control target for major water pollutant discharge, which served as an efficient supplement to the concentration-limiting indicators and played an important role in pollution control in this period. (4) With the increase of categories of discharged pollutants and the advances of monitoring and treatment technologies, more pollutants were placed under control. The number of control pollutants was expanded from 19 to 39 (Fig. 2d). (5) To ensure better enforcement of the standard, some supporting analysis methodologies for the major pollutants were specified. At the end of 1980s, several sub-national discharge standards for water pollutants were formulated in some provinces and cities of China, including Beijing City, Guangdong Province and Liaoning Province. 2.3 Further adjustment in 1990s China’s rapid urbanization kept on in 1990s, and the pollutant discharge varied a lot among different industries and geographic regions due to an unbalanced development. To meet these new challenges, a large amendment to the

30

(a)

Grade I-A Grade I-B Grade II Grade III

500 400 300 200 100

NH 4+-N concentration (mg/L)

COD concentration (mg/L)

600

0 1973

1988

1996

20 15 10 5 0

2002

6

1973

1988

1996

2002

1973

1988

1996

2002

80

Number of controlled items

(c) TP concentration (mg/L)

(b)

25

5 4 3 2 1 0

(d) 60

40

20

0

1973

1988

1996

2002

Year of standard release

Year of standard release

Fig. 2 Changes of discharging limits of a COD, b NH4+-N, c TP and d controlled items in China’s integrated/municipal wastewater discharge standards


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previous standards was performed in the new Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard (GB 8973–1996) (Fig. 1): (1) It determined the “no cross-enforcement” principle, i.e., industrial discharge standards, if available, should apply for specific industries, otherwise the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard should apply. (2) Twenty-five categories of refractory organic and radioactive pollutants were included, and the number of control items was expanded to 69. (3) Discharge limits of ammonia (NH4+-N) and phosphate were set in the standard as nutrient-induced lake eutrophication started to get worse. The sub-national wastewater discharge standards system was further completed, with the number of local discharge standards increased to 13 by the end of 1999. 2.4 Updating in 2000s Entering the 21st century, the conflict between economic– social development and the environmental carrying capac-

ity escalated and the contradiction between economic development and environmental protection kept intensifying (Economy EC 2007; Liu and Diamond 2005; Liu and Raven 2010). By 2010, China’s urban population has reached 49.68% (NBSPRC 1978–2010). Since 2004, a series of water pollution major accidents have occurred, and an increasing number of drinking water-related diseases emerged. In the summer of 2007, large-scale eutrophication broke out in three major lakes of China: the Tai, Chao and Dian lakes. China’s water environment had reached a state of unprecedented pollution crisis. The statistics of Ministry of Environmental Protection of P. R. China (MEPPRC) in 2009 showed that all the seven main rivers basins — Yangtze, Yellow, Pearl, Songhua, Huai, Hai and Liao river basins — suffer from water pollution in varying degrees (Fig. 3). In particular, most river reaches of the Huai, Hai and Liao rivers basins were classified as Category V or worse in water quality. This severe water pollution can be

4 6 7 2 5 1 3

Pearl River Basin

Yangtze River Basin

Songhua River Basin

Yellow River Basin

Huai River Basin

Legend Category I-III Category IV Category V and V+

Liao River Basin

Hai River Basin

Fig. 3 Water quality distribution of major river and lake basins in China in 2009 (MEPPRC 2010c)

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seen more clearly in Fig. 4, where over 60% of the water body in Songhua, Huai, Hai, Liao river basins and Tai, Dian and Chao lakes are rated Category IV or worse (MEPPRC 2010b). Fortunately, there came a turning point of China’s environmental protection policy. To stop further deterioration of water environment, China decided to put environmental protection to the highest priority (Chen 2009; Wu et al. 2010). A series of macro-adjustments in the wastewater discharge standard system had been performed during the period of tenth Five-Year Plan (2001–2005). According to the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010) issued by the State Council of P. R. China (SCPRC 2005), the amendments to over 100 national laws and over 1,000 standards concerning environment protection have been completed or are under way. By 2010, there had been 36 national water pollutant discharge standards in total. Meanwhile, the sub-national standards have also been improved. 2.4.1 Gradual unlinking of pollutant discharge standards and receiving water body Linking water pollutant discharge standards to the receiving water body had been a basic principle of the previous discharge standards. However, this principle eventually became outdated as the overall quality of China’s water environment kept declining. To address this challenge, China has started to shift the principle of standard promulgation from water quality-based limits to a hybrid of technology and water-quality consideration. According to the updated Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in 2008, when setting discharge standards the regulators should consider factors such as technological and economic limitations in addition to the water quality standard. And the best available technology (BAT) is tending to overweigh the 100

Percentage (%)

80

Category V+ Category V Category IV

60

40

20

0 YangtzeYellow Pearl Songhua Huai

Hai

Liao

Tai

Dian

Chao

Fig. 4 Pollution degrees of the major river and lake basins in China in 2009 (MEPPRC 2010c)

economical considerations in setting a limit, while the quality of receiving water shall serve as an efficient supplement and reference. Taking the recently released Emission Standards of Pollutants for Sulfuric Acid Industry for example, the pollutant discharge limits of the new standard are based on the internationally available best technology instead of the environmental quality of receiving functional zone. 2.4.2 Further lifting control level To alleviate water pollution, the recently released Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918–2002) sets more stringent requirements on wastewater discharge from WWTPs. It establishes three levels of grade according to the function of pollutantreceiving water body. As per this standard, the pollutantdischarging limits of Grade I-A should be met for all the newly built or upgrading municipal WWTPs that discharge into Category I or II water body with water reuse as the purpose. That is, the concentration of COD (chemical oxygen demand, the main measure of organic compounds in water) and NH4+-N should be below 50 and 8 mg/l, respectively (Fig. 1a, b), while those of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphate (TP) are set below 15 and 0.5 mg/l, respectively (Fig. 1c). In addition to municipal WWTPs, stricter regulations can also be seen in the newly released industrial standards. For example, the newly released Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Pulp and Paper Industry requires the enterprises to control the concentration of COD discharge below 100 mg/l. This is even stricter than most pertinent USA or European Union (EU) standards (EuropeanParliament and Council 2008; USEPA 2007). 2.4.3 Perfection of industrial discharge standards By 2002, China had only 17 industrial standards, and for many pollutants the controlling levels by the industrial standards were still low. For example, the NH4+-N discharge has been concentrated on chemical, petroleum, textile and several other industries, which account for 85.9% of the overall discharge in industrial wastewater. However, constraints on NH4+-N discharge in these industries used to be loose. The old standard allows a discharge concentration of up to 100 mg/l for NH4+-N. In contrast, more strict discharge limits of 40 mg/l NH4+-N for large-scale factories and 70 mg/l for medium-size factories were set by the amended standard, the Discharge Standard of Water Pollutant for Ammonia Industry (GB 13458–2001). A more strict discharge standard with 25 mg/l NH4+-N effluent limit is under consideration. Moreover, although the total pollution quantity control has


been practiced for many years, some industries still did not establish their own industrial-specific discharge standards. One typical example is the nitric acid industry. It now follows the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard, and set limits neither to the discharge volume of unit product nor to TN. In the upcoming Discharge Standard of Water Pollutant for Nitric Acid Industry, strict limits shall be set in both indexes. 2.4.4 Highlighting pollution control significance in key basins One typical characteristics of China’s water pollution is geographic unevenness. Despite the relatively low overall pollution levels in the Yangtze and Pearl river basins, the three most seriously contaminated regions in China have been found to be the Yangtze Delta, Pearl Delta and the Jing–Jin–Tang (Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei) Zone, which are all highly urbanized and industrialized regions (MEPPRC 2010b). By 2007, the overall water quality of Tai Lake, as the heart of the Yangtze Delta, has degraded to Category V+, the worst situation ever, which has threatened the drinking water security of surrounding areas. As a response, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China initiated an important policy in 2008 that sets special discharge limits to water pollutants in the environmentally sensitive areas. Eleven new industrial discharge standards that follow international clean production technology levels have been promulgated and implemented in the Tai Lake basin since September 1, 2008. In the same year, the most stringent local standard, Discharge Limits of Major Water Pollutants in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants of Tai Lake Basin, was enacted. The limits of the four major pollutants, COD, NH4+-N, TN and TP, were set to 50, 8 (or 5 in cold seasons), 15 and 0.5 mg/l, respectively, for all the WWPTs in Tai Lake basin, by strictly referring to the Grade I-A limits of Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918–2002). These limit values are actually comparable to the most stringent standards in some developed countries (Table 1). Moreover, more infrastructures for pollutant monitoring, advanced treatment and water remediation have been installed in this area to offer technical support to the standard upgrading. These efforts have exerted a positive effects by far, and the pollutants discharging situation is changing in this area. During 2007–2009, the total percentage of Category IV–V+ water quality in Tai Lake decreased from 79.5% to 63.7%, and those of Category V water quality declined from remarkably from 34.1% to 19.3% (MEPPRC 2010c). This implies a significant improvement of water quality brought by the implementation of this new standard. Furthermore, this turning point also marks the formation of a new standard-implementing mechanism in China.

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3 Present challenges in standard formulation and implementation and the future implications Although considerable efforts have been made by the Chinese government to enhance wastewater discharge control and progress has been achieved in recent years, problems and challenges remain. Compared with some developed countries, for example, USA and EU, China has more serious water pollution but much looser control (European-Parliament and Council 2008; USEPA 2007). For example, the recycling rate of industrial wastewater in China accounts for only 40%, which is much lower than the 75–85% in developed countries. Furthermore, China is, and shall continue to be, under the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization for a long term — thus the conflicts between increasing pollution discharge and shrinking environmental capacity may further intensify. Therefore, China will need to exert vast efforts and resources to address these challenges and to restore the water environment. 3.1 Defects of China’s wastewater discharge standards in comparison with USA and EU standards Because of the unique water pollution situation and the highly centralized-management characteristics of China, the system for stipulation and implementation of wastewater discharge standards in China is quite different from those of USA and EU (Table 1). According to the USA and EU’s environmental management policies, the BAT presents the major basis of standard formulation, but first consideration is given to environmental quality requirement. Water quality-based effluent limitation applies if the technologybased limits do not ensure compliance with water quality standards. The sub-national standards are well developed. The national standards set guidance and a minimum requirement to the major pollutants in total target, while the localities make more specific and stringent standards according to their own characteristics and pollution situation (European-Parliament and Council 2008; USEPA 2007). In contrast, China is now emphasizing formulation of BAT-based discharge standards, but economic considerations still account a lot at the present stage. Moreover, China’s industrial and local standards have yet to be perfected. In addition, the pollutants discharge limits in USA and EU are generally more strict and flexible. For example, the USEPA imposes relatively loose control on effluent of WWTPs, i.e., limits are set only for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), and a maximum discharge concentration of 30 mg/l is allowed for both indexes. This benchmark standard should be met by all WWTPs. When dealing with specific regions, however,

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Table 1 Comparison of wastewater discharge standards in China, USA and EU Items

China

USA

EU

Formulation

1) Both environmental quality, technological and economical factors are considered, but technological factor is being given more priority 2) Mainly national standards, relatively undeveloped local standards

1) EPA sets water pollutant discharge standards based on the best available technologies, and water quality consideration serves an important supplement 2) More flexibility in local governments and highly developed local standards

1) The best available technologies and environmental quality are for the first consideration

3) Industrial standards are under perfection

3) National standard defines the minimum treatment requirements, specific standards were separately established for each industrial categories and subcategories 1) The discharge limits of a facility is determined according to the assessment

Implementation

Control level

Limits of major pollutants for municipal dischargers

1) National standard specified uniform limits for similar dischargers

2) Control items are mainly concentration based, solution of pollution by dilution behavior still exist in some industries 1) Control over major pollutants is relatively low, but is under improvement

2) Highlight total target control of pollutants 3) Well-developed discharge permit system 1) The national effluent standard prescribes the maximum amount of pollutants that may be discharged from point source

2) TN and phosphate indicators are yet to be included in many discharge standards

2) Defines the minimum treatment requirements that a point source has to meet 3) Emphasize on BOD rather than COD 1) BOD5