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9 Water Quality Management
Managing water quality in a river basin context
Water quality should be managed together with water quantity within a river basin
context. At present, most of the water quality management systems are designed for
jurisdictional purposes, causing many river basin problems.
China should strengthen water quality river basin management in terms of planning (both water quality and water quantity), function zone, protection, and discharge.
Water abstraction and wastewater discharge, upstream and downstream, water quality
objectives, and drinking water sources zoning shall all be considered within a river
basin context.
Introducing and improving market-based approaches
At present, except for the charges, most water quality management instruments are
control-and-command. Market-based approaches should be introduced and applied
more widely in China, which will not only reduce management costs but will also
help the government to be more effective.
Water pricing mechanisms should be improved based on management purposes
and the characteristics of the resources, service, and environment. The water
resources fee/tax should reflect the water resource value both for human demands
and ecosystem services. Urban water supply tariffs and wastewater collection and
treatment fees should reflect the full costs of providing services, with subsidies on
services with public interests, such as domestic water supply. The water pollutant
discharge tax shall be, to some degree, linked to the environmental damage and
restoration costs. Eco-compensation (the payment for ecosystem services) should
also be introduced in water sources areas and upstream areas to protect water quality.
Strengthening capacity building
Water quality management should be strengthened in terms of planning, monitoring,
and metering as well as capacity building. Under the water resources planning framework, the water quality planning system should be developed. At present, water
quality planning is divided into the water resources protection plan and the water
pollution control plan, which separates the water quality management process. An
integrated water quality planning system is thus required.
The monitoring and metering systems are the weakest point in China, particularly in relation to monitoring the concentrations of pollution loads. A real-time
water resources metering and monitoring system, including water quality monitoring, should be developed. Monitoring and metering for key pollutant dischargers,
boundary waters, and water supply systems should be strengthened. A unified platform should be developed among different agencies to promote data sharing and
consistency.
In China, more and more critical water quality problems have been exposed in
recent years. In order to deal with water quality management, China has developed
a divided, sectoral management system, resulting in numerous problems, including
lack of an integrated framework, overlapping functions, focus on pollution control,
poor implementation, and inadequate capacity. To solve these problems and improve
9 Water Quality Management
Managing water quality in a river basin context
Water quality should be managed together with water quantity within a river basin
context. At present, most of the water quality management systems are designed for
jurisdictional purposes, causing many river basin problems.
China should strengthen water quality river basin management in terms of planning (both water quality and water quantity), function zone, protection, and discharge.
Water abstraction and wastewater discharge, upstream and downstream, water quality
objectives, and drinking water sources zoning shall all be considered within a river
basin context.
Introducing and improving market-based approaches
At present, except for the charges, most water quality management instruments are
control-and-command. Market-based approaches should be introduced and applied
more widely in China, which will not only reduce management costs but will also
help the government to be more effective.
Water pricing mechanisms should be improved based on management purposes
and the characteristics of the resources, service, and environment. The water
resources fee/tax should reflect the water resource value both for human demands
and ecosystem services. Urban water supply tariffs and wastewater collection and
treatment fees should reflect the full costs of providing services, with subsidies on
services with public interests, such as domestic water supply. The water pollutant
discharge tax shall be, to some degree, linked to the environmental damage and
restoration costs. Eco-compensation (the payment for ecosystem services) should
also be introduced in water sources areas and upstream areas to protect water quality.
Strengthening capacity building
Water quality management should be strengthened in terms of planning, monitoring,
and metering as well as capacity building. Under the water resources planning framework, the water quality planning system should be developed. At present, water
quality planning is divided into the water resources protection plan and the water
pollution control plan, which separates the water quality management process. An
integrated water quality planning system is thus required.
The monitoring and metering systems are the weakest point in China, particularly in relation to monitoring the concentrations of pollution loads. A real-time
water resources metering and monitoring system, including water quality monitoring, should be developed. Monitoring and metering for key pollutant dischargers,
boundary waters, and water supply systems should be strengthened. A unified platform should be developed among different agencies to promote data sharing and
consistency.
In China, more and more critical water quality problems have been exposed in
recent years. In order to deal with water quality management, China has developed
a divided, sectoral management system, resulting in numerous problems, including
lack of an integrated framework, overlapping functions, focus on pollution control,
poor implementation, and inadequate capacity. To solve these problems and improve