A recent investigation has uncovered a troubling pattern where rural sewage treatment projects, meant to improve village life, have been left idle or are malfunctioning, yet residents are still being charged fees. Villagers in several regions reported that these facilities, designed as a public benefit, have instead become a source of daily frustration.
In Dongshan Village, located in Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, a sewage treatment station costing nearly 2 million yuan was built but has never been used by the locals. According to residents, the facility cannot collect or process waste properly, forcing them to discharge domestic sewage directly into nearby rivers and ponds. On-site observations revealed ponds covered in duckweed and garbage, with blackened water emitting a strong odor upon disturbance. Most households in the village lack sewer connections, leading to haphazard wastewater discharge.
Public records show that in 2020, the Tongshan District invested 65 million yuan to improve pipe networks in nine administrative villages and expand sewage treatment coverage to 15 others. Dongshan Village was included in the 2020-2021 plan, with a sewage station built at a cost of 1.91 million yuan, designed to treat wastewater from toilets, bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry. National guidelines mandate that pipe layouts and facility sites be decided with village input, requiring joint surveys by authorities and villager representatives. However, locals say they were never consulted during construction, and the supporting collection network was never delivered, leaving the station unable to receive any wastewater.
Without proper drainage, the village suffers severe flooding after rains, as shown in videos from August 2025 that capture water disrupting daily life. Reporters found no collection pipes inside the village, yet a main sewage pipe was laid on a river embankment outside, about 4 meters above ground level. Due to gravity, wastewater from the lower-lying village cannot flow upward into this pipe, which contradicts the national standard GB50014-2021 that requires drainage mains to be placed in low-lying areas for efficient collection, clearly not the case here. This pipe appears to be an isolated segment with no branch lines or household connections, making it incapable of serving its purpose.
After repeated complaints, contractors installed three lifting pumps in July. Following a 5-centimeter plastic pipe from the station's tank, reporters found these pumps in a ditch next to the village, but they were not operational. Consequently, untreated sewage in the ditch flows directly into the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. To appear functional during inspections, the project team reportedly uses tanker trucks to fetch water from the canal and pour it into the village's pipes and manholes, simulating daily treatment activity.
Adding insult to injury, villagers now pay a sewage treatment fee of 0.35 yuan per ton of water, as per local pricing standards, a charge that appeared on bills starting March 2025. The staff at Maocun Water Supply Station acknowledged the fee is deducted directly by higher authorities and they have no involvement. When questioned, the village committee stated it is not their responsibility, while the station's operator referred inquiries to the owner, Runtong Company. It remains unclear if these fees correspond to any actual service.
Similar issues plague Xiangfen County, Linfen City. In Jie Village, a complete pipe network exists and the village looks neat, but no treatment terminal was ever built, so sewage is still released untreated. In Yonggu Village, sewage has long been discharged into ditches and ponds, creating hygiene risks. In Dongliu Village, a built station lies abandoned with overgrown weeds, its equipment idle and covered in cobwebs. The outlets emit black, foul-smelling water filled with garbage, which is dumped into pits without any treatment. The village party secretary attributes this to unfinished pipe connections, and the Linfen Ecological Environment Bureau staff note that funding shortfalls halted the piping project, leaving the facility unable to operate.
These cases highlight a systemic failure, raising questions about how public funds are spent and why projects remain non-functional, all while residents bear the costs.