Khabarovsk is situated on the right bank of the Amur River. In November 2005 a factory in Jilin, China spilled massive amounts
of toxic chemicals (reportedly benzene,nitrobenzene, and analine) to the Songhua, a southern tributary of the Amur which forms Russia's
southern boundary with China and Mongolia. The chemical spill threatened the drinking water supply of Khabarovsk. The
City of Portland, Oregon, Khabarovsk's sister city in the U.S., responded with offers of aid and assistance, the genesis of the project
described in these web pages. Pictured above is the City of Khabarovsk photographed in June 2007. The Ussuri river joins
the Amur at the top, far right of the picture while the main branch of the Amur approaches in the form of an oxbow from below.
(The flow is from right to left in this photo.) The Amur is a shallow, braided river. The smaller stream at the bottom
of the photo is known as the "Mad River" because of its seasonally strong current. The Mad River is actually the natural
cut across the base of the oxbow that will someday cause the Amur to completely bypass Khabarovsk.
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Washington Department of Ecology
Oregon State University Institute for Water and Watersheds
Municipal Unitary Enterprise Khabarovsk Vodokanal
Khabarovsk Krai Ministry of Natural Resources
Department of Nature Protection
All Russia Nature Protection Society of Khabarovsk
OAO ECO Partner
