Citing «rampant» violations, China's environmental watchdog has banned a range of industrial activities around major lakes struck by pollution-fed algae blooms. All projects involving discharge of ammonia and phosphorus are forbidden in the lakes' watersheds, along with the production, use, and sale of detergents containing phosphorous, The Associated Press quoted the official Xinhua News Agency as saying in a report late Thursday. Fish farming in the lakes must end by the close of next year and fish ponds, vegetable plots, and flower farms are not permitted within 1 kilometer of the lake shore. «Environmental problems, if improperly handled, can trigger major social crises, and improving water quality has become our most urgent task,» Xinhua quoted Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, as saying. Xinhua said Zhou's remarks came at an emergency meeting on water pollution in the eastern city of Hefei, indicating heightened concern over the growing problem. The new rules target two large lakes in eastern China, Tai and Chao, along with Dianchi near the southwestern city of Kunming. All three have suffered blooms of blue-green algae in recent weeks, at times forcing the suspension of water supplies to millions while the algae is cleared and the lake flushed with water from elsewhere. Illegal activities harming the environment were «rampant,» Xinhua quoted Zhou as saying. It cited a recent administration study of 126 industrial parks that found 87 percent had allowed environmentally harmful companies in violation of rules. Half of 75 waste water processing plants either functioned below standards or weren't working at all. Of 529 inspected companies, 44.2 percent were in violation of environmental regulations. «Hazards are everywhere, and environmental accidents are very likely to happen,» Zhou said.
