A panorama of the Taohe River in Yangquan [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

The water quality of all five national surface water assessment sections in the city of Yangquan in North China's Shanxi province were superior to Grade V – the lowest level of China's water classification. 

A national surface water assessment section is a representative section of a river that is chosen by the State which monitors the water quality in real time. China divides water quality into five categories, of which Grade I to Grade III are excellent water bodies, and any water inferior to Grade V does not meet standards for drinking, or industrial or agricultural usage. 

Among five national surface water assessment sections in Yangquan, four are between Grade I and Grade III, while one met the Grade IV markers. 

Yangquan has already eliminated water bodies inferior to Grade V. It also further improved its local water quality by strengthening the treatment of domestic sewage and polluted water, preventing and controlling industrial, agricultural and rural pollution, carrying out water ecological restoration in river basins, and improving the management of its water environment.　

This year, the city will completely eliminate water bodies that are black and odorous, and complete the water quality improvement and ecological restoration of the Taohe River. It will also complete the ecological treatment of the artificial wetland near the Nanchuan River, the water environment of the Wenhe River, and the Weishui artificial wetland near the Yuxian Sewage Treatment Plant.