Qinhuai River in Nanjing. [Photo/VCG]
Jiangsu has achieved remarkable progress in water control, from launching the first river chief systemin 2007 to piloting the water conservancy modernization in 2011 and then fully establishing the river chief system in 2017, Jiangsu media reported on July 16.
The blue-green algae outbreak in Taihu Lake in 2007 triggered the water supply crisis in Wuxi City. In order to solve this problem, Wuxi initiated the river chief system, requiring the Party chief and government leaders at all levels to be responsible for coordinating the water environment management of the rivers under the jurisdiction. One year after the system was implemented, the water quality compliance rate increased from 53.2 percent to 71.1 percent in 79 sections of waterways under city jurisdiction.
In June 2008, Jiangsu experimented the river chief system in the entire basin of Taihu Lake. After 10 years of efforts and practice, the water quality of Taihu Lake has been upgraded from Class V to Class IV, while East Taihu Lake’s water quality has reached Class II, as the water ecosystem continues improving. In 2016, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council made comprehensive decisions to roll out the river chief system nationwide. In 2017, Jiangsu announced that it took the national lead in establishing a comprehensive river chief system.
Sanwan Wetland Park in Yangzhou [Photo/VCG]
Jiangsu has fully built the organization system for river chief working mechanism. The province has 64,426 river chiefs at five levels to cover 158,600 rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and small water bodies, achieving full coverage of the province's water bodies.
According to the Jiangsu Province Ecological Rivers and Lakes Action Plan (2017-2020), the province is estimated to restore a water area of 100 square kilometers by 2020 and basically eliminate the stinky water bodies in cities divided into districts as well as counties and cities in the Taihu Lake basin, ensure 70 percent of the major rivers and lakes to reach the Excellence rate in ecological evaluation.
By 2030, key water functional zones in Jiangsu will fully meet the quality standards, with rivers and lakes totally restored and a complete compliance of flood control.
