Minfeng County Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Reclaimed Water Reuse Project, Hotan (capacity raised from 4,000 to 10,000 m3/d)

Minfeng County sits at the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert. In this arid inland county, where the urban water supply relies mainly on groundwater, water for households and for ecological landscaping has long been tight. The existing plant, designed for 4,000 m3/d, ran close to its limit as the built-up area expanded, and although its effluent met discharge standards, no dedicated reuse network existed, so the treated water was largely not reused. In June 2025 the county launched an expansion and reclaimed-water reuse project, which was completed and put into service in June 2026. With a total investment of about RMB 55.49 million and a floor area of 4,026 m2, the scheme was built on the existing site. Treatment capacity was raised from 4,000 to 10,000 m3/d, two and a half times the previous figure, and reuse facilities and a distribution network were added so that compliant effluent could be turned into usable reclaimed water. The plant runs on four stages: screening, biological treatment, sedimentation and disinfection. Influent is first intercepted by screens to remove debris, then enters the biological unit where organic matter and ammonia nitrogen are degraded, followed by solids-liquid separation in circular radial-flow clarifiers equipped with scraper bridges, and finally disinfection. Effluent quality is stable and compliant, and a chemical dosing house adjusts dosages to changes in influent quality. The most visible change is where the water goes. Reclaimed water is piped to urban road verges, ecological forest irrigation, the national highway green belt and the maintenance of the county's tamarisk park, replacing tap water and groundwater previously used for landscaping. Wang Shiliang, the plant manager, said the county purifies urban sewage to environmental standards through the four stages, and that the compliant reclaimed water is used mainly for road greening and ecological forest irrigation, with the scope of reuse to be widened further. In operation the project has more than doubled the county's sewage collection and treatment capacity, brought urban sewage under centralised treatment, improved river water quality, and largely eliminated the summer odour problem on the river channel. Reclaimed water also relieves pressure on scarce fresh water in an arid region and lowers the cost of watering green space. Sources: Xinhua, Xinjiang Channel, "Minfeng County: expanding capacity, improving ecology, recycling water" (9 October 2026, https://xj.news.cn/20261009/12c5580af6fd4991a450a3c000fb6e4c/c.html). Image: circular clarifier at the Minfeng County plant during normal operation, with scraper bridge and stainless-steel handrails, county green belt and farmland beyond (source: Xinhua, photo by Yipaerguli).