The Beijing Drainage Group, which manages the capital’s wastewater treatment and sewage network, is facing questions over its management.
Several plants run by the state-owned company failed to treat wastewater to government standards, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement yesterday.
It said effluent from one plant in Tongzhou District had not been properly processed “for a long period of time” due to substandard facilities.
Two plants in northern Beijing were also found to have released substandard processed water, and another two were found to have failed to follow protocol.
The ministry also said that the company’s treatment of sewage posed environment risks.
Only 10 per cent of 2,800 tons of sewage had been processed in an environmentally-friendly way, while the remainder was poorly composted or left to rot in open spaces, it said.
The company is also accused of ignoring the unusual deterioration of waste water in some regions, which had been caused by industrial waste contamination.
