(Dr. Mao (SWARTA), Mohammed Dahab (University of Nebraska) and Ken Kirk (national Association of Clean Water Agencies)
We are meetinng with Dr. Mao Wei De today. He is the Secretary- General of the Shanghai Water Reclamation Trade Association (SWARTA). It was founded in 2005 and acts as kind of a mediator (for water/ wastewater issues) between the government and businesses- similar to GAWP or WEF. Dr. Mao was great fun and gave us a history of wastewater in Shanghai.
(Waterfront in Shanghai at the "Bund"- notice the floating billboard)
Currently 75% of the city's wastewater is treated and they hope to reach the goal of 80% by 2010. The Chinese government will invest the equivalent of $ 7 billion dollars in the next 3 years to improve water source protection. They have come a long way but still have a long way to go in protecting the public health of the people and protecting their environment.
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