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Black and Odorous Water in China: A Collaboration Opportunity with BiOWiSH®

As polluted, black and odorous water comes to the forefront of China’s environmental initiatives, how can BiOWiSH help?

Water Pollution in China

In China, multiple government departments, companies, and even citizens are uniting to reverse the damage caused by decades of unbridled industrial expansion. The program to clean polluted waterways is known as the “Hei Chou He Initiative” (Black and Smelly River Initiative).

Almost half of China’s 75,000 miles (121,000 kilometers) of waterways are unfit for human contact. 80% of China’s cities, some of the most populous in the world, do not treat sewage effluent.

However, the government is working to change this.

Water Cleanup Plan

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment recently developed a “Black and Smelly River” channel on the popular messaging and social media application, WeChat, designed for citizens to submit their own photos of polluted rivers for evaluation and cataloging by the government.

This is a major step for the Chinese government; director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs Ma Juan revealed to Marketplace that “this is one of the first times for the government to really, actually — not theoretically or abstractly — engage with people.”

As the Chinese Government moves to clean their waterways with the citizens’ help, BiOWiSH Technologies is keeping our eyes peeled for opportunities to help with the Hei Chou He Initiative.

BiOWiSH Solutions for Black and Odorous Water

Our products are perfect for such a large-scale surface water treatment project. That’s because BiOWiSH products contain microorganisms that create beneficial shifts in existing microbial ecologies. Results include improved water quality and odor management. The microbial solutions are safe for people, plants, and animals, making the widespread epidemic of “black and odorous water” in China an area of interest for BiOWiSH.

With multiple solutions, BiOWiSH® has several opportunities to help environmental management professionals in China and around the world.

Appropriate products for such a project include BiOWiSH® Aqua and BiOWiSH® Aqua FOG. BiOWiSH® Aqua is designed to operate as an effective facultative anaerobe, allowing it to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while BiOWiSH® Aqua FOG is specialized to reduce the presence of fat, oil, and grease. By operating anaerobically, it reduces organic loading and resulting nutrients that produce the odor-causing bacteria strains.

As the rivers are being cleaned, the BiOWiSH® solution can be used to further improve water clarity, reduce odors, and restore sparkling waters throughout China.

For more information about water treatment with BiOWiSH, visit