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Chaohu Lake faces imminent algae outbreak
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-09 23:09

Chaohu Lake faces imminent algae outbreak

The east part of Chaohu Lake filled with blue algae is seen in this photo taken on July 8, 2009 in Hefei, east China's Anhui province. [Asianewsphoto]

Li Guanggui, a fisherman said only three to four fish in his daily hauls of over 5,000 grams were alive during the algae outbreak last year.

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Li Zhaolin, a resident living by the lake side in the outskirt of Hefei, said the lake has smelled so bad since last week that he could not open his windows.

"The dead fish have brought swarms of mosquitoes, affecting the life here," he said.

Hefei City is the biggest polluter by the lake. The city discharged 21 million tonnes of industrial waste water into the lake in 2008, down by 70 percent from that of 2005, as the city has invested heavily on sewage treatment facilities after a serious algae outbreak caused drinking water problems in 2004.

In addition to the facilities, the city has also tried to put millions of algae-eating fish into the lake in the hope of fundamentally clearing the algae pollution.