The river was was fine at 5 am and then residents smelled a strange odor and saw that the river was now a deep red. It is clear that someone dumped industrial waste in the river in hopes that the expected monsoon rains would wash them down river. The rains however were delayed. There is a paper manufacturer, a food coloring company and clothing-maker upstream that might be a logical place to start.
China continues to struggle with not just legal and political issues in dealing with pollution but also a cultural and social problem. While there are brave environmentalists who have been beaten and jailed for raising pollution issues, many Chinese are clearly not responsive to such arguments ranging from pollution abatement to food safety.