Water quality of Lugu Lake keeps First Class for four years

Due to the cluttered housing distribution and chaotic garbage management, the Lugu Lake was once heavily troubled with sewage problems reported on CCTV in 2004. The water quality of the Lugu Lake remains First Class accordding to the national standard since 2008.

In the next year, 300 million yuan from the Yunnan province, Lijiang city and Ninglang county will be allocated to the protection of the Lake and to keep the water quality unchanged. In order to improve the situation, the management committee of the Lugu Lake has launched a series of projects: the houses near the Lake are relocated 80 meters away; a sewage plant is set up; garbage is collected under a unified standard.

In addition, a specialized team is built for hydrological monitoring and forest protection. Through these three-year-long efforts, the goal of "not letting a single drop of sewage into the Lugu Lake" has been achieved. The visibility of the Lake amounts to 12.1 meters, which meets the national standard of grade one. Additionally, water birds are increasing, forest coverage is enhancing and soil erosion becoming controlled.

In the recent years, the Lugu Lake has been honored by awards such as “Ten Excellent Ecological Tourism Areas of China”and “China’s Finest Destination of Cultural and Ecological Tourism”. The Lugu Lake is attracting thousands of visitors from around the globe due to its spectacular landscape and unique folk customs.