The cumulative reduction of sewage by ships in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River in five years exceeds 1 million tons.

　　On February 27, the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment held a press conference on Chongqing's efforts to advance the battle for the protection and restoration of the Yangtze River. It was revealed at the conference that since 2021, illegal discharge behaviors by ships in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River have decreased by 90%, corporate pollution prevention costs have been reduced by 70%, and over 1 million tons of wastewater have been cumulatively reduced.

　　Sun Hua, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Maritime Bureau, introduced that in recent years, the Chongqing Maritime Bureau, in collaboration with the Municipal Transportation Commission, has innovatively proposed the concept of "onboard storage and shore-based disposal" and "zero discharge" for ship wastewater management in the main and tributary waters of the Yangtze River in Chongqing. The following measures have been primarily adopted: First, promoting the modification of ship facilities to cut off direct discharge channels for wastewater, clarifying the requirement for "zero discharge" wastewater management for ships within Chongqing's jurisdiction, and facilitating the modification of wastewater collection facilities for over 4,000 ships. Newly built ships are all designed and constructed according to "zero discharge" requirements.

　　Second, advancing the construction of reception facilities to streamline transfer and disposal channels. More than 200 fixed wastewater reception facilities at docks, 16 specialized shore transfer docks, and over 30 mobile wastewater reception ships have been built, forming a wastewater transfer and disposal system primarily based on fixed dock reception supplemented by mobile ship reception, effectively addressing the "last mile" of wastewater transfer to shore.

　　On this basis, Chongqing has established a joint regulatory mechanism to achieve closed-loop management throughout the entire process. Various departments have set up a joint regulatory mechanism for wastewater reception, transfer, and disposal, promoting the long-term application of the "Ship e-Travel" system. Electronic joint management is implemented for the delivery, reception, transfer, and disposal of ship water pollutants, with data sharing among departments to ensure traceability of wastewater sources and destinations.

　　Additionally, Chongqing has promoted the introduction of the nation's first local regulation that mandates the implementation of the "zero discharge" concept for ship water pollutants. The first local regulation for inland waterways covering the entire water area of main and tributary streams—"Chongqing Ship Pollution Prevention Ordinance"—has been enacted, achieving a historic leap from localized pilot projects to comprehensive inclusion in the legal framework for ship pollution management.

　　Through comprehensive coordination across the region, Chongqing has achieved integrated supervision of main and tributary streams, unifying standards and enforcement requirements for ship wastewater management in all navigable waters of the city. This has established a work framework that covers the entire region, with unified standards and collaborative supervision, effectively addressing the regulatory blind spots in the convergence areas of main and tributary streams.

　　Chongqing has also actively promoted the Ministry of Transport to implement the "zero discharge" wastewater management for ships along the entire Yangtze River. This has achieved full coverage of "onboard storage and shore-based disposal" for wastewater from over 36,000 ships navigating the Yangtze River mainline year-round, effectively breaking down regional governance barriers. (New Chongqing - Chongqing Daily Chief Reporter Chen Weideng)