"Since last year, we have done everything possible to secure manpower and material supplies, worked overtime to speed up construction, and completed the civil works and mechanical and electrical equipment installation ahead of schedule. We are currently commissioning the equipment," said Hua Qiang, deputy manager of the Bozhou Guobei Surface Water Plant project department of China Construction Installation Group Co., Ltd., at the project site in Bozhou City a few days ago.

The Guobei Surface Water Plant project is a key livelihood project of the municipal government, covering an area of 51.941 mu, with a designed daily water supply capacity of 50,000 tons and a total investment of 180 million yuan. The plant will use water from the reservoir of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion project. Once officially put into operation, it will replace the currently used Guobei Water Plant and supply domestic water to residents in the northern part of the city.

"Construction of the Guobei Surface Water Plant project started on March 8, 2022, but due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control, the construction schedule was delayed by three months. After epidemic prevention and control measures were optimized, we stepped up construction, hoping this livelihood project would be completed and put into use as soon as possible," Hua Qiang said. Since December last year, they have started work on multiple individual structures simultaneously, carried out construction in a cross-flow sequence, and laid some pipelines in advance to save as much time as possible. At the same time, they kept adding manpower, with more than 200 people working on site at the peak.

Hua Qiang said the Guobei Surface Water Plant project also includes the renovation of the currently operating Guobei Water Plant. The renovation requires water supply interruptions, so to avoid affecting water supply, construction could only be carried out at night. "To meet the schedule, we worked through the night during that period, from 11 p.m. until after 6 a.m. the next day."

The reporter saw at the site that workers were commissioning the equipment, marking that the project has entered its final sprint stage. "The main purpose of equipment commissioning is to verify the quality of equipment installation, ensure the performance of equipment and pipelines, and provide technical support for formal operation later," Hua Qiang said. At present, water from the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion project has not yet arrived, so only single-unit commissioning can be carried out. Once the surface water source is officially introduced into the plant, integrated commissioning and testing of the entire plant area will be conducted.

"At present, the Guobei Water Plant has six low-power outlet pumps, while the newly built Guobei Surface Water Plant uses four high-power pumps plus two low-power pumps. The outlet pressure will increase, and water supply capacity will be further improved. Moreover, the new plant's water source is surface water, which undergoes advanced treatment, so water quality will be better," Hua Qiang said. After the Guobei Surface Water Plant is put into operation, it will play an important role in optimizing the regional water resource allocation, greatly improve the water quality and supply security for residents in the northern part of Bozhou's urban area, and completely solve problems such as excessive fluoride levels in residents' drinking water.