Chinese city installs 70 cameras to save lake

Beijing -  In a novel approach to prevent a lake from becoming a dumping ground of human waste by local residents, authorities in China's Guangdong province have installed over 70 cameras along the lake.

The administrative committee of Luhu Lake and urban management authority have promised to take effective measures to stop the illegal dumping of human waste into the lake, a scenic area in downtown Guangzhou in the province, China Daily reported.

Authorities have installed the cameras along the lake in addition to boosting patrols, said a Luhu Lake administrative committee official.

"The cameras, which cover the entire lake area, will soon be put into operation," said the official surnamed Liu, adding anyone caught red-handed dumping animal or human waste in the lake will be punished to the fullest extent of the law along with heavy fines.

Substantial amounts of feces were found to have been poured into the lake since mid-July.

According to Liu, workers from his committee were still busy cleaning the waste from the lake Wednesday and the cleanup would be completed before Monday.

Guangzhou has a population of more than 16 million and the city generates more than 3,000 tonnes of human waste daily. But it can handle only 100 tonnes.

Illegal disposing of feces has become a common practice in the city's sanitation industry, and tonnes of waste have been poured into the Pearl River and local lakes.

According to environmental officials, the city has over 10,000 sanitation companies, but less than two percent have business licences. Unlicensed companies dump the waste into lakes and rivers at night.