Yangtze River waste outlet survey begins

China's top environmental watchdog has launched a pilot field survey of wastewater outlets that discharge into the Yangtze River, as preparations for a campaign to map all such outlets along the country's longest waterway gain momentum.

More than 130 environmental law enforcement officers and experts from seven provincial regions and institutes affiliated with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, divided into 40 teams, began combing a 98-kilometer section of the Yangtze in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday after undergoing a morning training session.

Li Tianwei, a senior official with the ministry's law enforcement bureau, said during the training that the survey will not overlook any outlets.