Featured | A couple who have been the waterkeepers of Duihekou Reservior for 30 years

2020-08-23 14:31:34 source: Wang Chenhui


One evening, looking at the clear Duihekou reservoir, Ren lianchun and Chen Aiqin showed happy smiles. Ren Lianchun and Chen Aiqin are residents of Duihekou Village in Deqing City. They have been protecting the water of Duihekou Reservoir for almost 30 years.

 

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Summer is coming, and with the arrival of tourists, the couple is ushering the busiest time of the year. They inspect rivers and streams, clean up garbage, publicize water protection knowledge door to door, spending more than 10 hours every day on protecting water.

 

“Please remember to protect our water. Don’t discharge sewage.” At 6 o’clock in the morning, with a loud voice breaking the quiet of the village, Ren Lianchun and Chen Aiqin went out with woven bags, tongs and loudspeakers. When they see trash, they put it in the bags with tongs. When they meet villagers and tourists, they publicize the importance of protecting water and send water protection leaflets to people.

 

微信图片_20200811161456.jpg


"At one time, villagers used to dump their rubbish and waste water into streams in the morning, where the water flows to the reservoir. However, things have improved after our publicity," Ren said.

 

The Reservoir was built in 1958 and completed in 1964. At present, the reservoir has a capacity of 149 million cubic meters, which is the drinking water source of Deqing people and is called "big tank" of Deqing. Born in the early 1960s, Ren and Chen have a deep affection for the reservior.

 

"This reservoir is, so to speak, a part of our lives," Ren said, around 1990, she was distressed to find that the water in the reservoir was not so clean as before.

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, due to the construction of factories and farms around the reservoir and villagers' weak awareness of water conservation, the water quality declined dramatically. From then on, Ren began to protect the water voluntarily. She persuades everyone not to throw garbage or pour sewage into the water. In addition to persuading people, she also persuades enterprises not to discharge sewage into the reservoir. Besides, she cleans up all kinds of garbage around the reservoir on a daily basis.

 

微信图片_20200811161500.jpg


"At the beginning, we didn't understand. I asked him why should we do such a thankless task since the reservoir is not ours?" Chen said. But Ren said that the reservoir belongs to everyone and only when everyone loves it can it become more and more beautiful.

 

Out of love for her husband, Chen, who works in Deqing, began to protect water with Ren in her spare time. After retiring in 2015, she focused her energy on protecting water. Under their efforts and the control of relevant departments, the water quality of the reservoir was restored to a good level around 2012.

 

"At present, there are no enterprises near the reservoir, and the main sources of pollution are from tourists. Some time ago, there was a lot of rain, thus leading to a lot of floating stuff on the river. Hence, our workload increased a lot," Ren said. She also told us that they prevented nearly 30 pollution cases from January to July.

 

Since entering rain season at the end of May, Wukang Street in Deqing has experienced several rounds of heavy rainfall, which is also a greater challenge to the water quality of the reservoir. Ren recalled that on the morning of July 6, it started raining heavily and there was a strong wind outside. Thinking that the trash that had been brought ashore from the stream the night before might be blown back into the stream and then into the reservoir, he was worried. He immediately put on his raincoat and boots and took his tools and went out. It was not until 12 o 'clock at noon that the couple, drenched with rain, returned home.

 

In the afternoon, before the rain stopped, Ren and Chen had a quick meal and went out to check the dilapidated buildings, ditches, rivers and low-lying areas.

 

In the middle of July, the weather got better. Therefore, a large number of tourists flocked to the Duihekou reservoir. And stopping tourists from swimming and fishing and publicizing water protection became an essential part of their work once again.

 

"We had less time to rest, but it was worth it to witness the water in the reservoir being more and more beautiful," Ren said. Sometimes, when they were tired, they would stop to take a look at the rippling reservoir, which attracted them deeply.


(Compiled by Xu Yuhong, translated by Yu Fei)

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One evening, looking at the clear Duihekou reservoir, Ren lianchun and Chen Aiqin showed happy smiles. Ren Lianchun and Chen Aiqin are residents of Duihekou Village in Deqing City. They have been protecting the water of Duihekou Reservoir for almost 30 years.

 

微信图片_20200811161450.jpg


Summer is coming, and with the arrival of tourists, the couple is ushering the busiest time of the year. They inspect rivers and streams, clean up garbage, publicize water protection knowledge door to door, spending more than 10 hours every day on protecting water.

 

“Please remember to protect our water. Don’t discharge sewage.” At 6 o’clock in the morning, with a loud voice breaking the quiet of the village, Ren Lianchun and Chen Aiqin went out with woven bags, tongs and loudspeakers. When they see trash, they put it in the bags with tongs. When they meet villagers and tourists, they publicize the importance of protecting water and send water protection leaflets to people.

 

微信图片_20200811161456.jpg


"At one time, villagers used to dump their rubbish and waste water into streams in the morning, where the water flows to the reservoir. However, things have improved after our publicity," Ren said.

 

The Reservoir was built in 1958 and completed in 1964. At present, the reservoir has a capacity of 149 million cubic meters, which is the drinking water source of Deqing people and is called "big tank" of Deqing. Born in the early 1960s, Ren and Chen have a deep affection for the reservior.

 

"This reservoir is, so to speak, a part of our lives," Ren said, around 1990, she was distressed to find that the water in the reservoir was not so clean as before.

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, due to the construction of factories and farms around the reservoir and villagers' weak awareness of water conservation, the water quality declined dramatically. From then on, Ren began to protect the water voluntarily. She persuades everyone not to throw garbage or pour sewage into the water. In addition to persuading people, she also persuades enterprises not to discharge sewage into the reservoir. Besides, she cleans up all kinds of garbage around the reservoir on a daily basis.

 

微信图片_20200811161500.jpg


"At the beginning, we didn't understand. I asked him why should we do such a thankless task since the reservoir is not ours?" Chen said. But Ren said that the reservoir belongs to everyone and only when everyone loves it can it become more and more beautiful.

 

Out of love for her husband, Chen, who works in Deqing, began to protect water with Ren in her spare time. After retiring in 2015, she focused her energy on protecting water. Under their efforts and the control of relevant departments, the water quality of the reservoir was restored to a good level around 2012.

 

"At present, there are no enterprises near the reservoir, and the main sources of pollution are from tourists. Some time ago, there was a lot of rain, thus leading to a lot of floating stuff on the river. Hence, our workload increased a lot," Ren said. She also told us that they prevented nearly 30 pollution cases from January to July.

 

Since entering rain season at the end of May, Wukang Street in Deqing has experienced several rounds of heavy rainfall, which is also a greater challenge to the water quality of the reservoir. Ren recalled that on the morning of July 6, it started raining heavily and there was a strong wind outside. Thinking that the trash that had been brought ashore from the stream the night before might be blown back into the stream and then into the reservoir, he was worried. He immediately put on his raincoat and boots and took his tools and went out. It was not until 12 o 'clock at noon that the couple, drenched with rain, returned home.

 

In the afternoon, before the rain stopped, Ren and Chen had a quick meal and went out to check the dilapidated buildings, ditches, rivers and low-lying areas.

 

In the middle of July, the weather got better. Therefore, a large number of tourists flocked to the Duihekou reservoir. And stopping tourists from swimming and fishing and publicizing water protection became an essential part of their work once again.

 

"We had less time to rest, but it was worth it to witness the water in the reservoir being more and more beautiful," Ren said. Sometimes, when they were tired, they would stop to take a look at the rippling reservoir, which attracted them deeply.


(Compiled by Xu Yuhong, translated by Yu Fei)

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reservoir;water;protecting;Village;tourists;streams;rain;smiles;rivers;residents