This Outline of National Water Network Construction Plan is a sectoral policy document covering the period of 2021-2035. The development goals are set up in the policy document. By 2025, China will develop a batch of major projects concerning the national water network and strengthen efforts to shore up the weak links in water resources allocation, urban and rural water supply, flood control and drainage, water ecological protection, and smart water networks. The intelligence level of the water network projects will improve, and the country's capacity to guarantee its water security will also be enhanced. The long-term goals extending to 2035 include seeing a national water network take shape, creating water networks at the provincial, municipal, and county levels, and fostering a national water security system that meets the requirements of realizing socialist modernization. Based on natural water bodies, the network will be a comprehensive system that combines water resource allocation, disaster mitigation, water ecology and environment conservation. To achieve the goals, main tasks are identified in the policy document. The main tasks include: 1. accelerate the construction of the backbone of the network, which mainly consists of a national framework as well as regional elements; 2.Improve the water resource allocation and water supply guarantee system through 1)implementing the construction of major water diversion projects, 2) improving the regional water resource allocation system, 3) promoting the construction of water source regulation and storage projects; 3. Improve the flood control and disaster reduction system in the river basins, taking full account of extreme weather impacts caused by climate change and changes in flood control situations; 4. Improve the protection and governance system of river and lake ecosystems through promoting the ecological protection and restoration of rivers and lakes, strengthening the comprehensive management of groundwater overexploitation, and strengthening the ecological construction of water source conservation and soil and water conservation; etc.
China · 2023-05-25