As recently as 2002, Yangzonghai had been noted for having water clean enough for drinking and swimming. But as of September 2008, it was officially considered unfit for drinking, swimming in or fishing in, when the provincial government announced high levels of arsenic in its waters. The arsenic contamination was discovered when an inspection was made of enterprises operating in the Yangzonghai basin. Eight companies were found to have been engaged in illegal polluting practices. Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Industrial and Trade Co Ltd was named as the main polluter. The company allegedly failed to build the legally required treatment facility for its wastewater, with years of accumulated arsenic seeping into the local water table. It had been fined multiple times in the past, but the relatively small fines were viewed by the company as an extra cost of doing business. Yunnan Communist Party SecretaryBai Enpei and Yunnan Governor Qin Guangrong have pledged to take "decisive action" to remedy the situation. In February 2008, Kunming Communist Party Secretary Qiu He visited Yangzonghai, warning local enterprises that the lake must not become a "second Dianchi". An article posted on xinhuanet.com, October 22, 2008 said: "Three executives of a company were arrested and 12 government officials fired in connection with polluting a lake in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to a provincial inspection department spokesman on Wednesday. The executives were Li Dahong, chairman of the board of directors with Jinye Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., and Jin Dadong, director in charge of production in the company. The spokesman did not disclose the identity of the third executive. The 12 fired officials included Chen Zhifen, a vice mayor of Yuxi City, Yang Zhenqiang, assistant to the mayor, Fang Jianhua, director of the city environmental protection bureau, and two unnamed officials with the provincial water resources department. The others were removed from county-level government departments."
Cleanup project
The Yunnan provincial government has initiated the "China Yunnan Yangzonghai Lake Water Pollution Reduction, Arsenic Removal and Water Quality Restoration" project in a bid to clean up the lake via the Yunnan Provincial Scientific and Technological DevelopmentResearch Institute. The main objective of the project will be to reduce the amount of arsenic in Yangzonghai's waters from the current 0.128 grams/liter to 0.050 grams/liter within a three-year period.
