Amid the scorching summer heat, at the construction site of the tailwater artificial wetland project for the Xilinhot City Sewage Treatment Plant in Xilingol League, the anaerobic pond embankment and main structures are largely completed. Road paving along the dam top and fence installation are progressing in an orderly manner, while water injection for reclaimed water is underway. The main structure of the vertical subsurface flow wetland has been finished, with the planting of emergent aquatic plants scheduled based on water levels. Afforestation is proceeding methodically along the edges of the facultative pond and aerobic pond, and areas where grass seeds have been sown are now entering a watering and maintenance phase.
Xilinhot City is located in an arid and semi-arid region, where local water resources are inherently scarce, and evaporation rates far exceed precipitation. The downstream floodplain of the Xilin River has a simple ecological structure and a weak ability to resist disturbances. Even when the effluent from the sewage treatment plant meets the national Class A discharge standard, the risk of pollutant accumulation persists as the water moves through the environment. In response to this ecological shortfall, the city has leveraged major project planning actions to accelerate the construction of the tailwater artificial wetland project. This systematic ecological purification process aims to solve water environment management challenges in arid regions, establishing a solid water ecological foundation for the city's high-quality development.
In July 2025, the tailwater artificial wetland project officially commenced construction and was included in the list of major ecological projects, designed to reduce the ecological pressure from tailwater entering the Xilin River at its source. The project has a total investment of 88.1375 million yuan and covers a total planned area of 1.1008 million square meters. The site is scientifically divided into functional zones, with supporting facilities including an anaerobic pond, vertical subsurface flow wetland, facultative pond, surface flow wetland, and aerobic pond. To address the technical challenge of low-temperature operation in northern winters, the project innovatively employs a combined process of vertical subsurface flow wetland and surface flow wetland. This creates a complete ecological purification chain: "inlet water, anaerobic pond, vertical subsurface flow wetland, facultative pond, surface flow wetland, aerobic pond, and drainage channel." Through layered collaboration between different wetland units, a closed-loop water purification system is formed.
Furthermore, the project has pioneered an integrated management model of "deep tailwater purification plus ecological water replenishment." After the effluent from the sewage treatment plant, which meets the standard, undergoes multi-stage ecological filtration through the wetland, the outflow water quality will be upgraded from the Class A standard to the Class IV surface water standard. This deeply purified, high-quality water will flow into the Xilin River, effectively enhancing the river's self-purification capacity and stabilizing the regional water environment's carrying capacity. This provides a solid guarantee for the long-term and stable water quality of the Xilin River, ultimately reshaping the regional water ecological cycle system.
The project has currently completed 79% of the total engineering volume and is scheduled to be finished by November 30, 2026.
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