A newly released law called the Environmental Impact Evaluation has made it necessary for the urban planning department to locate future real estate projects on land that has an existing sewerage system in place.

The new law will take effect next month.

Pollution from untreated residential sewage flowing directly into local waterways has become a major issue and officials pledged to solve the problem.

"This is a great idea to ensure healthy real estate development and avoid sewage pollution as well," said Zhu Dan, director of the supervision and administration division of the Shanghai Environment Protection Bureau.

Before the new law, real estate developers have been required to build sewage drainage pipelines and even simple disposal facilities within the residential complex. But large amounts of untreated sewage failed to be discharged properly due to inadequate pipelines.

Part of the problem is that two different pipelines and types of treatment centers exist - one for residential sewage and another for rainwater. Residential sewage is getting into rainwater sewage facilities and treatment plants.

"As far as a single real estate project is concerned, it is OK in terms of the environment protection facilities, but it still creates pollution for the surrounding area because a network wasn't built to collect the sewage produced by each individual residential complex," Zhu said.

The government will take multiple measures such as revving up the construction of water disposal plants in the suburbs and extending existing urban sewage pipelines accordingly.

Officials with the Shanghai Water Authority said they had just finished a pipeline extension project in suburban Nanhui District.

"The water disposal rate will be increased next year after some new water disposal plants will begin operation," said Zhu Jiong, an official with the city's water authority.

(Shanghai Daily News June 9, 2004)