FOUR heavily polluted city rivers have been cleaned up after the officials in charge received warnings last month.

The rivers in Xuhui, Baoshan, Changning and Songjiang districts had black and malodorous water, said the Shanghai Water Authority yesterday.

After warnings from central and city governments, the district officials, know as river chiefs, set up aeration machines and water plants along the rivers.

Officials in Xuhui and Changning districts found rainwater and drainage were mixing in residential pipes.

Sludge was also forming at the bottom of the rivers.

Pipelines reconstructed

Changning District officials have began reconstructing the pipelines in 51 old residential communities.

In Xuhui, a new drainage pipeline more than 1 kilometer long is being built.

Nets have been set at rainwater outlets to block garbage and other waste entering the river.

From today, the district authority will start a series of rectification works targeting the 33 street shops along the Caohejing River where waste is drained through rainwater pipes.

There are 66 companies and 26 residential communities in the area which have the same problem.

The district aims to rectify these by June 2020.

Scheme is a success

The river chief scheme is a nationwide campaign to improve city waterways.

District directors are appointed as chiefs of the main waterways in the areas under their jurisdictions. Directors of sub-districts or towns are appointed as secondary chiefs responsible for smaller waterways in the area.

Chiefs who neglect their duties will be warned, and even face the risk of punishment.

There were 630 kilometers of polluted rivers in the city in early 2017, mainly in suburban districts, according to the city environmental protection bureau.

By the end of this year, the city aims to solve the issue of black and malodorous rivers in the city for good.