348
16 Integrated Urban and Rural Water Affair Management Reform …
In 2004, the Beijing WAB was created. In addition to incorporating functions from
the water resources bureau, the Beijing WAB included urban water supply, water
saving, drainage, and wastewater treatment, as well as groundwater development,
use, and protection, in the urban plan zone.
It could be said that integrated urban and rural water affairs management reform
is, by changing current water management institutions, restructuring the government’s organizational model for water management, which previously separated
resources management, service regulation, and environmental management functions into different agencies, by forming WABs or by redesigning functions of current
water resources bureaus to incorporate some or all of the functions of resources
management, service regulation, and environmental management into a WAB or
water resources bureau. China has a centralized and unified administrative and political system, but local governments have the power to organize their administrative structures, to some extent. Therefore, although many regions decided to implement this reform, many others did not; and at the central level, the reform was not
done too. Even among regions implementing integrated urban and rural water affairs
management, significant differences in WAB functions can be investigated.
Because the reform was closely related to functional rearrangement of departments of the State Council, particularly in the MWR and the Ministry of Construction (MOHURD), other agencies strongly objected to the reform. In 2008, the State
Council clarified that the MWR would not be responsible for the detailed management of urban water issues, and local municipal governments would take on responsibility for the management of water supply, water saving, drainage, and wastewater
treatment issues. The departments of the State Council provided technical guidance
according to functions. Thus, a locally initiated reform from the early 1990s was
returned to a locally decided one after 2008, after a period of promotion by the
MWR.
By the end of 2017, 1,528 administrative regions had established WABs, of which
four were at the provincial level, 225 at the prefectural level, and 1,299 at the county
level. There were also 1,123 water resource bureaus managing integrated urban and
rural water affairs, of which four were at the provincial level, 135 at the prefectural
level, and 984 at the county level. The percentage of regions implementing reform
represented 12.9%, 86.7%, and 82.6% of all provinces, prefectures, and counties,
respectively. In terms of urban water-related functions, 89.2% of agencies had responsibility for urban flood control, 36.3% for urban water supply, 72.3% for urban water
saving, 22.4% for urban drainage, and 17.6% for wastewater treatment and reuse. It
can be argued that there was a rapid increase in the establishment of WABs before
2004 and a stagnation around 2008 (Table 16.1).
16 Integrated Urban and Rural Water Affair Management Reform …
In 2004, the Beijing WAB was created. In addition to incorporating functions from
the water resources bureau, the Beijing WAB included urban water supply, water
saving, drainage, and wastewater treatment, as well as groundwater development,
use, and protection, in the urban plan zone.
It could be said that integrated urban and rural water affairs management reform
is, by changing current water management institutions, restructuring the government’s organizational model for water management, which previously separated
resources management, service regulation, and environmental management functions into different agencies, by forming WABs or by redesigning functions of current
water resources bureaus to incorporate some or all of the functions of resources
management, service regulation, and environmental management into a WAB or
water resources bureau. China has a centralized and unified administrative and political system, but local governments have the power to organize their administrative structures, to some extent. Therefore, although many regions decided to implement this reform, many others did not; and at the central level, the reform was not
done too. Even among regions implementing integrated urban and rural water affairs
management, significant differences in WAB functions can be investigated.
Because the reform was closely related to functional rearrangement of departments of the State Council, particularly in the MWR and the Ministry of Construction (MOHURD), other agencies strongly objected to the reform. In 2008, the State
Council clarified that the MWR would not be responsible for the detailed management of urban water issues, and local municipal governments would take on responsibility for the management of water supply, water saving, drainage, and wastewater
treatment issues. The departments of the State Council provided technical guidance
according to functions. Thus, a locally initiated reform from the early 1990s was
returned to a locally decided one after 2008, after a period of promotion by the
MWR.
By the end of 2017, 1,528 administrative regions had established WABs, of which
four were at the provincial level, 225 at the prefectural level, and 1,299 at the county
level. There were also 1,123 water resource bureaus managing integrated urban and
rural water affairs, of which four were at the provincial level, 135 at the prefectural
level, and 984 at the county level. The percentage of regions implementing reform
represented 12.9%, 86.7%, and 82.6% of all provinces, prefectures, and counties,
respectively. In terms of urban water-related functions, 89.2% of agencies had responsibility for urban flood control, 36.3% for urban water supply, 72.3% for urban water
saving, 22.4% for urban drainage, and 17.6% for wastewater treatment and reuse. It
can be argued that there was a rapid increase in the establishment of WABs before
2004 and a stagnation around 2008 (Table 16.1).