BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A group of 15 Chinese environmentalists looked into the sewer of American life on Tuesday when they took a tour of the city’s waste water treatment plant on the shores of Lake Champlain.

They saw how the city cleans the waste water produced by its 40,000 residents in hopes of learning lessons they will be able to take back to their home of Chongqing, with 30 million people the largest city in China.

“There is a lot of this that we can borrow,” said Jiang Liangwei, a director of a branch of the Chinese equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency responsible for Chongqing, the inland city at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in southwestern China. He spoke through a translator.

The delegation was hosted by the University of Vermont’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences.

China, with its rapidly growing economy with few environmental controls, is facing severe environmental challenges. In the Chongqing area, the environment is further challenged by the Three Gorges Dam project, the largest hydroelectric facility in the world.

As the reservoir behind the dam fills up, millions of people are being displaced and the once fast-moving river is no longer washing industrial pollutants downstream. But the government has recognized the problem and is beginning to take the steps needed to protect the environment, officials said.

“Compared to the other cities in China, things are improving (in Chongqing),” said Jiang.

UVM mathematics Professor Jun Yu, who translated for the delegation, said the Chinese government was beginning to focus resources on the environment.

The Chinese government is working with other countries of the world to fight pollution. Jun said he would like to see the United States do more.

“In terms of environmental problems, China has a lot of challenges. A lot of things need to be done,” said Jun. “They are already seeing improvement.”

Before touring the wastewater facility on Tuesday, the Chinese delegation toured Burlington’s drinking water plant. Since arriving in Vermont last Thursday, the Chinese environmentalists have met with Vermonters to learn about environmental engineering, ecological management, sustainable development, and environmental policy and law.

On Tuesday, the delegation was walked through the process that begins when raw sewage flows into the plant and ends when treated water is dumped into Lake Champlain, almost clean enough to drink.

City Project Engineer Steve Roy showed them how debris is removed from the sewage, the process of separating the solids, how biological processes are used to further treat the water and, finally, how the nearly pure water is discharged into the lake.