Organized by the Environmental Protection Bureau of Yunlin County, the “Let’s Clean Up and Treasure the Sinhuwei River” event was held today (26th). Deputy Mayor - Xie, Shu-Ya, Deputy Director of the 5th River Management Office - Xu, Xi-Xin, Erlun Township Mayor - Zhong, Fu-Zhu, and County council members - Li, Ming-Zhe, You, Shu-Yun and Liao, Yu-Xian were joined by a number of the county’s water environment patrol groups, environmental volunteers, and residents of neighboring communities to share the responsibility of cleaning up the surrounding flood bank near the Sinhuwei River, as well as maintaining the cleanliness of the newly-opened Yunhe Bridge.

　Yunhe Bridge is an important transportation hub that spans the Sinhuwei River and connects the Huwei High Speed Rail Special Zone and Erlun Township. With its golden yellow “ear of rice” appearance, Yunhe Bridge is a new landmark in Yunlin which flows through 11 townships. Located near Yunhe Bridge, the Sinhuwei River and the floodbank are jointly preserved by the water environment patrol group of Erlun Township’s Nanzi Village, the water environment patrol group of Wucuo, and the water environment patrol group of Sanhe Community. The opening of the Yunhe Bridge has resulted in increased traffic flow at the flood bank, meaning that the environment and ecology are required to be maintained at all times. In an effort to do so, water environment patrol groups and volunteers were recruited to carry out inspections and maintenance of the water environment. A total of 147.52kg of refuse and 49.35kg of recyclables were gathered during the river clean-up event.

　During the event, the Nanzi Village Water Environment Patrol Group was invited to share their water environment maintenance experiences which were well-received. The purpose of setting up of an ecological pond in Nanzi Village is primarily for purifying the village’s domestic wastewater which was engineered under the guidance of Yunlin University of Science and Technology. The filtration system of the pond is driven by the water flow, meaning the domestic wastewater is filtered through various phases of stones which eventually flows into the ecological pond. As the wastewater treatment became part of the community, not only is the ecology of the environment maintained, the surrounding areas of the ecological pond have also become a new place for nearby residents to meet up.

　“The completion of Yunhe Bridge has driven the development of neighboring towns and at the same increased the volume of traffic,” said the Deputy Mayor, Xie, Shu-Ya, “but we must not forget our commitment to the environment. Through arranging river clean-ups, the public can take practical steps to protect the surrounding environment.” In addition, we thank these water environment patrol groups for their dedication on the maintenance and management of the county’s rivers, as well as performing regular water quality inspections.