The city aims that sewage collection capacity in six main branches of the Suzhou Creek will reach 80percent by this year-end, Jiefang Daily reported today.

This will help to improve the creek and its branches'water quality largely,said vice mayor Han Zheng yesterday on working conference on Suzhou Creek Branches Clean-up Project.

Han said that sewages discharged directly to the six most severely polluted branches will be reduced from 300,000 tons to less than 40,000 tons by the end of the year.

The project covers an area of 230 square kilometers in seven districts including downtown's Zabei,Putuo,Changning,Xuhui districts and suburban Minghang,Baoshan and Jiading.

Last year,the city cut off some 1,254 pollutants sources along branches by introducing sewages into collection pipes.This year some 1,700 more pollutant sources will be cut off.

The project is a key part of the city's decade long project to clean up Suzhou Creek initiated in late 1999.

( eastday.com August 31, 2002)