China unveils landmark plan to curb water pollution | Liu Qin - China Dialogue

China unveils landmark plan to curb water pollution | Liu Qin - China Dialogue Under the long-awaited ‘Ten-point water plan’, China’s cabinet said it aims to lift the share of good quality water, ranked at national standard three or above, to more than 70% by 2020 in seven major river basins including the Yellow and Yangtze. The plan also wants at least 93% of urban drinking water supply to be at least level three by the end of the decade, and calls for comprehensive supervision of water quality from source to tap by local governments, performance that will be reviewed by central government and made public. The plan said impact on water supplies will become a key consideration on whether to permit industrial plants, adding that it will restrict building of petrochemical and metal refining along major rivers.https://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/7854-China-unveils-landmark-plan-to-curb-water-pollution/en?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=562f93bee4-Sinocism04_19_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-562f93bee4-29615013&mc_cid=562f93bee4&mc_eid=5935182a65

Related: Xinhua Insight: Cleaning up China's big rivers - Xinhua On a recent fact-finding mission, a Xinhua reporter visited a tributary of the Huai in Anhui and found it covered in white foam and dead weeds with a foul smell. Local farmers said the smell is especially bad in summer and people who wade in the river develop a red rash. The problem is nationwide. The main streams of rivers are often given more attention than tributaries and lakes. It will be important to attach just as much importance to tributaries in order to hit the new targets, Wang said. "The response of the local governments to the plan matters," he said. "Can local authorities come up with detailed and feasible policies?" http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-04/17/c_134160642.htm?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=562f93bee4-Sinocism04_19_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-562f93bee4-29615013&mc_cid=562f93bee4&mc_eid=5935182a65