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9 Water Quality Management
In addition to MWR, NHC oversees management of drinking water sanitation.
2 MOHURD is responsible for guiding urban water supply, water saving, and
construction of urban wastewater treatment facilities and networks.
3
In terms of water quality management, before 2018, the roles of MWR and MEP
had a distinction: MWR was responsible for water quality management in the water
bodies, while MEP was responsible for water pollution control on the land. This
was the “geographic” boundary between the two agencies, regardless of the type of
water pollution (Shen 2005). After 2018, almost all water quality management efforts
have been merged under MEE, but water quality and water quantity are managed
separately.
At the river basin level, before 2018, RBO was responsible for water resources
protection works, including river basin water resources protection planning, interprovince water function zones, discharge outlets management, pollutant loading
capacity verification, total pollutant discharge limit proposals, inter-province water
quality monitoring, and drinking water sources and groundwater protection (YRCC
2008). River basin water resources protection functions were the responsibility of the
river basin water resources protection bureau. When the bureau was established, it
was under the dual leadership of MWR and SEPA, but SEPA never acknowledged it as
its subordinate agency. In the 2008 governmental reorganization, these bureaus were
reformed as individual agencies under the river basin water resources commission;
and the responsibilities of these bureaus were as follows (Tai Lake Water Resources
Protection Bureau 2008):
• Implementing water resources protection and water pollution control legislation
and policies; mediating inter-provincial water pollution disputes.
• Organizing the formulation, supervision, and management of water function
zones; coordinating and reviewing provincial water function zones.
• Analyzing the pollutant loading capacities of major water bodies, presenting
proposals on the total pollutant discharge limit of waters, supervising pollutant
discharge outlets in transboundary waters, directly managing lakes and rivers, key
water and inter-provincial water transfer waters; supervising pollutant discharge
control in main drinking water source protection zones; leading water quality
management when water abstraction permits are issued and also during water
quality assessments for water resources justification projects.
• Formulating and supervising the implementation of water resources protection plans; guiding and reviewing provincial water resources protection plans;
participating in river basin water pollution control plans.
• Managing river basin water quality monitoring; organizing water quality and
quantity monitoring in provincial boundary waters, key waters, inter-provincial
water transfer waters, and major water supply sources; and issuing river basin and
provincial boundary water resources quality bulletins and reports.
2 https://www.nhc.gov.cn/zhuz/jgzn/lmtt.shtml.
3 https://www.mohurd.gov.cn/gyjsb/zyzz/index.html.
9 Water Quality Management
In addition to MWR, NHC oversees management of drinking water sanitation.
2 MOHURD is responsible for guiding urban water supply, water saving, and
construction of urban wastewater treatment facilities and networks.
3
In terms of water quality management, before 2018, the roles of MWR and MEP
had a distinction: MWR was responsible for water quality management in the water
bodies, while MEP was responsible for water pollution control on the land. This
was the “geographic” boundary between the two agencies, regardless of the type of
water pollution (Shen 2005). After 2018, almost all water quality management efforts
have been merged under MEE, but water quality and water quantity are managed
separately.
At the river basin level, before 2018, RBO was responsible for water resources
protection works, including river basin water resources protection planning, interprovince water function zones, discharge outlets management, pollutant loading
capacity verification, total pollutant discharge limit proposals, inter-province water
quality monitoring, and drinking water sources and groundwater protection (YRCC
2008). River basin water resources protection functions were the responsibility of the
river basin water resources protection bureau. When the bureau was established, it
was under the dual leadership of MWR and SEPA, but SEPA never acknowledged it as
its subordinate agency. In the 2008 governmental reorganization, these bureaus were
reformed as individual agencies under the river basin water resources commission;
and the responsibilities of these bureaus were as follows (Tai Lake Water Resources
Protection Bureau 2008):
• Implementing water resources protection and water pollution control legislation
and policies; mediating inter-provincial water pollution disputes.
• Organizing the formulation, supervision, and management of water function
zones; coordinating and reviewing provincial water function zones.
• Analyzing the pollutant loading capacities of major water bodies, presenting
proposals on the total pollutant discharge limit of waters, supervising pollutant
discharge outlets in transboundary waters, directly managing lakes and rivers, key
water and inter-provincial water transfer waters; supervising pollutant discharge
control in main drinking water source protection zones; leading water quality
management when water abstraction permits are issued and also during water
quality assessments for water resources justification projects.
• Formulating and supervising the implementation of water resources protection plans; guiding and reviewing provincial water resources protection plans;
participating in river basin water pollution control plans.
• Managing river basin water quality monitoring; organizing water quality and
quantity monitoring in provincial boundary waters, key waters, inter-provincial
water transfer waters, and major water supply sources; and issuing river basin and
provincial boundary water resources quality bulletins and reports.
2 https://www.nhc.gov.cn/zhuz/jgzn/lmtt.shtml.
3 https://www.mohurd.gov.cn/gyjsb/zyzz/index.html.