It islearned from the Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau that with the approval of the municipal government,thebureau has decided to exempt the micro, small and medium enterprises in urban areas from paying sewage treatment fees for 5 months in order to help them overcome the impact of the epidemic and get through the hardtime.

　　At present, the water fees paid by urban enterprises consist of basic water prices and sewage treatment fees. Andthe standard basic water prices are 1.87 yuan/ton forPuhua Water Co., Ltd, 1.89 yuan/ton for Gezhouba Group Water, 1.85 yuan/ton for Three GorgesWater, 1.82 yuan/ton for Construction and Investment Water and 1.8 yuan/ton for Xiakou Water Plant, whilethat forsewage treatment is 1.4 yuan/ton, accounting for about 43% of the total water fee.

　　The unitsexemptfrom the sewage treatmentfees aremicro, small and medium enterprises registered in the urban areas and paying the fees according toanon-resident standard. The exemptionperiod is from February 1 to June 30, 2020.

　　Forthe relevantenterprises withaccounts at the water supply companies in the urban areas (excluding Yiling District), the exemption is directly handled at the collection ofwater fees; forthose without such an account should negotiate with their respective office buildings, apartments, or urban complexes, or with property management companies orproprietors collectingwater fees. If the implementation of the price policy is conducted according to general meters ofthe account holders, the enterprises canask theholdersfor the reduction of their sewage treatment fees. However, account opening partiesthat do not meet the criterion are ineligible for the preference. (Reporter:Yuan Man;correspondent:Ye Sheng, Zhang Lingxiao)