Sewage in 'secret pipes' probed in Jiangsu

Authorities have launched an investigation into a sewage discharge in three industrial parks in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, the provincial environmental protection bureau said on Thursday.

The discharges occurred in the city's Guanyun county. Monitoring, supervisory and law enforcement experts gathered in Lianyungang to address the environmental situation, with results to be announced later.

The issue was first brought to light by China Central Television on Wednesday in a report showing a layer of white foam clogging many farmland ditches. The sewage, locals claim, was released into the Guanhe River through "illegal underground pipes" from nearby factories.