Delta's ecological base gets a boost with Xicen water plant

The Xicen Water Purification Plant went into operation in January, injecting green impetus into the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone.

The new water plant, located in the core area of Xicen Science and Technology Innovation Town in Qingpu District, is an important part of the construction of the demonstration zone’s pilot area.

Covering an area of 33 mu (about 2.2 hectares), it adopts a fully underground intensive construction mode. It is one of the country’s best underground waste water treatment plants in terms of effluent standards.

The water plant’s construction includes all-process facilities for sewage pre-treatment, secondary biological treatment, disinfection, sludge treatment and odor removal, as well as intelligent management systems, landscaping and municipal pipelines.

With the advancement of the pilot area’s construction and continuous population growth, the treatment capacity of the old Xicen Sewage Treatment Plant had become insufficient, with problems such as aging equipment and backward processes becoming evident, officials said.

The new one uses leading sewage treatment technologies, boasting higher efficiency and lower energy consumption. With a daily treatment capacity of 25,000 tons and a long-term capacity of 50,000 tons, it can fully satisfy the future development need of the pilot area.

The water plant has also introduced technologies like industrial interconnection and intelligent robots, integrating big data and AI to enable precise spatial location sensing of people, objects and machines, along with real-time 3D visualization.

Notably, the new plant’s design fully embraces sustainability and environmental protection, blending underground construction with ecological landscape to create open green spaces and leisure paths.

It integrates industrial facilities into the urban environment, providing residents with new green and water-friendly landscapes, and effectively embodying the concept of environmentally friendly infrastructure.

The new plant’s operation will enhance the water environment management level of Jinze Town and surrounding areas, helping improve river water quality, and fortifying the Yangtze River Delta region’s ecological foundation.