Ministry issues guidelines on rural water management

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has adopted two guidelines that aim to enhance water environment management in rural China, as the country strives to promote rural vitalization. The documents on the treatment of domestic wastewater and black and odorous water bodies were passed in an executive meeting of the ministry on January 2024, according to a media release from the national environmental watchdog.

Stressing the treatment of rural domestic wastewater as a key measure for China's national strategy to promote rural revitalization, the release said the guideline vows to beef up efforts to enhance governance and supervision. Adhering to the principle of working based on ground conditions in different areas, the ministry will make efforts to develop treatment modes that are technologically viable and cost-efficient, it said.

The other guideline has emphasized black and odorous bodies of water as an outstanding environmental problem at rural residents' doorstep, saying eradicating such dirty masses is of great significance for increasing people's sense of gain on the environmental aspect, the release stated.

The document has included clear and specific workflow for treating rural black and odorous water bodies, which ranges from the identification, cause analysis and treatment measures to progress assessment, it added.

The release said the ministry will urge authorities across the country to establish long-term mechanisms regarding the management of such bodies with foul smells. It said the local government should forge ahead with the work on treating black and odorous water bodies and rural domestic wastewater and beefing up agricultural pollution governance in a coordinated manner to ensure overall improvement in rural aquatic environment.

Author：Hou Liqiang

Source: <https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/22/WS655d70dba31090682a5ef7f6.html>