The Water Here - Part 1: Green Paint

Having been here a few weeks, I can now start to paint you an accurate picture of the water situation... in green!

A Lake of Green Paint

The first encountered, most well known, unavoidable and shocking water feature here is Dianchi, the enormous lake downstream of Kunming City. It struck me as odd when I saw it on Google Maps before coming here, but I dismissed it, thinking it was just poor image processing. No way could the lake be that color. I was right – Google's sky pictures show a dull, hazy green; in reality, it is a vivid, sickly green. Seen from a satellite, neither the thick viscosity nor the odor is communicated. see pictures below

Unlike the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day, the cause here is severe eutrophication, where an over-fertilization of nutrients (in this case, nutrients = the waste of nearly 7 million human residents) in the water causes excessive plant growth and decay. Water quality diminishes, the color changes, and the ecosystem falls out of balance. Oxygen levels plummet and fish and other animal populations decline. People are no longer able to enjoy the lake for recreation or its beauty. The public desires restoration of the lake to its pristine state, but the government has its own reasons for ensuring that it remains a big green smelly embarrassment.

Recently, the local government has made a big show of solving the problem. They displaced entire villages along the lake's edge, and started highly visible projects netting algae out of the water. Actually there are numerous ongoing projects, and none are managed together. This is done purposefully – with more projects that get started, more funding is allocated to the local government, which means more money into their pockets. I actually saw firsthand evidence at a publicized meeting and fancy lunch with government officials today, where announced funding dollars relating to water projects were definitely fudged.

A study Derek worked on in 2006 found that only a quarter of Kunming City's waste gets treated. It's not difficult to guess where the rest of the poo ends up. Clearly this is the source of the problem, and at its head is where it should be addressed. There are proven methods that would work. But I've been seeing more and more that technical challenges are never the true obstacles – scientists and engineers usually find a way. What become obstacles are usually the human challenges that stem from either ignorance or a lack of morals. I've made notes in my journal of many examples of this, encountered these past few months. Near the end of my journey, perhaps I should compile them into a post titled 'The Failings of Man'. But then again I probably should not, for it's always better to end on a positive note.

Even if Dianchi Lake never gets restored, at least green is my favorite color!

See what I did there?