Guiding Thinking, Goals, and Tasks of National Water Resources Development During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period

Department of Planning and Programming of the Ministry of Water Resources

The 13th Five-Year Plan period is not only a key period for deepening reform and pushing forward the rule of law in an all-round manner, but an important period for effectively solving old and new water-related problems, stopping the lagging in water project construction from the source, constructing a national water safety guarantee system, and accelerating modernization of water management. The water sector reform and development during this period should focus on making up for the deficiency, breaking the bottleneck, enhancing strength for future development, upgrading to higher levels, promoting development, benefiting people's livelihood, and building up a water safety guarantee system that meets the development needs of the era and lives up to people's expectation.

1 Guiding Thinking

Complying with the water control principles of "Chinese government has put forward the guiding principle of prioritizing water conservation, upholds the principle of balancing population growth, economic development, resources and the environment, adheres to the systematic philosophy that mountains, waters, forests and farmlands constitute one life community, and insists on the basic requirement of jointly promoting development of water sector by both governmental and market forces", closely aiming at the grand goal of building a moderately prosperous society and meeting the requirements for deepening the water sector reform in an all-round manner, focusing on major water projects for water conservation and water supply for upgrading basic guarantee capacity of water resources; building as the foundation the water conservancy projects related to people's livelihood, including those involving rural drinking water safety and construction of farmland irrigation and drainage works, working hard to provide basic public service products, safeguarding national food safety; gaining leverage by implementing the most stringent water resources management system, promoting the change of the economic and social development modes; saving no efforts to promote water ecological progress by relying on systematic improvement and ecological restoration of rivers and lakes; constructing modern water governance system and mechanism by seeking breakthrough via deepening water sector reform and enhancing water control by law, accelerating the modernization of water management, upgrading national water safety guarantee, and offering stronger water sector support and guarantee for achieving sustainable economic and social development.

2 Basic Principles

2.1 Insisting on putting people's interests first. Regarding the protection and improvement of people's livelihood as the basic starting and end points of water management, making great efforts to solve the problems related to flood control and drinking water safety, which are the most direct and the most real concerns of the people, promoting equilibrium of basic public services of water management, and letting water management development benefit all people.

2.2 Sticking to efficient use of water resources. Firmly establishing the concept of water conservation in the society, practicing economical water use in the entire process of socioeconomic development and people's daily life and productive activities, strictly implementing total water consumption control and quota management, increasing water use efficiency and benefit, and accelerating the fundamental transition from extensive water use to intensive and economical water use.

2.3 Insisting on employing the carrying capacity of water resources as development caps. Enhancing water demand management in accordance, defining water demand and consumption based on water resources available, fully enforcing the most stringent water resources management system, and promoting the proper balance between socioeconomic development and the carrying capacity of water resources and water environment.

2.4 Sticking to systematic management of rivers and lakes. Establishing the idea that mountains, water bodies, forests, farmlands, and lakes form a life community, planning all natural ecological elements as a whole, putting under integrated consideration the upper and lower reaches, left and right banks, surface and underground terrains, urban and rural areas, engineering and non-engineering measures, and solving water-related disasters and problems with water resources, water environment, and water ecology.

2.5 Keeping on concerted efforts by the government and the market. Deepening water sector reform in an all-round manner, innovating on the development system and mechanism, giving fully play to the decisive role of the market in resources allocation, giving better play to the government's leading role, making efforts to promote water resources reform in important fields and key steps, and making water sector development more vigorous and more efficient.

2.6 Sticking to water governance by law and water development by scientific and technological means. Accelerating the improvement of the water regulation system, strengthening supervision on water-related administrative law enforcement, enhancing legal management and control of water resources and water environment, protecting river and lake reservoirs and water conservancy engineering facilities. Laying greater stress on the key role of scientific and technological innovation, making efforts to strengthen informatization construction of water governance management and projects, and trying to make new breakthroughs in major scientific issues and key technologies related to water affairs.

3 Development Objectives

The general goals of water resources development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period include: by 2020, we will reverse the obvious lagging of water conservancy construction compared to socioeconomic development, complete the system of flood control, drought relief, and disaster mitigation, the rational allocation and efficient utilization system of water resources, the system of water resources protection and river and lake health guarantee, and the regulation system conducive to the scientific development of water sector, and promoting the modernization of the water governance system and water governance capacity.

3.1 Development goals for flood control, drought relief, and disaster mitigation. Flood-control capability improve obviously in key cities and the areas protected against floods. Embankments of main streams and important tributaries of major rivers and important sea walls meet national flood-control standards. The relevant areas have greater capability to prevent and control the small and medium-sized rivers and disasters such as mountain flood. The key regions gradually become more and more capable of draining the flooded areas. Key districts and urban and rural areas obviously become more capable of fighting the drought. The proportions of annual average direct economic losses in China due to floods and droughts in the same period are kept below 0.6% and 0.8% of the GDP, respectively.

3.2 Development goals for water conservation. The most stringent water resources management system has been basically established. Obvious progress has been made in building a water-saving society. Total annual water consumption in China is controlled below 670 billion m3 and the use of non-traditional water sources increases by a large margin. Water resources are used more efficiently and bring about greater benefits. Over 2015, the water consumption for per 10,000 RMB of GDP and per 10,000 RMB of industrial added value will be reduced by 25% and 20%, respectively. The national effective utilization coefficient of water used in farmland irrigation increases to over 0.55.

3.3 Development goals for urban and rural water supply. The country gradually acquires greater capability to integrate the dispatching and allocation of its water resources. Urban and rural areas enjoy obviously greater water supply guarantee.Urban and rural residents enjoy guarantee for drinking water safety. National increasing capable of water supply is 27 billion m3. Urban water supply guarantee rate and emergency water supply capability are further increased. Safety guarantee for rural drinking water is continuously upgraded. Tap water is supplied to over 85% of rural areas. More than 90% of rural population receives concentrated supply of drinking water.

3.4 Development goals for rural water infrastructure. The conditions of farmland irrigation and drainage infrastructures are further improved. The supporting water-saving transformation for large and key medium-sized irrigation districts included in the plan has been basically completed. A group of modernized irrigation districts are built. The farmland under effective irrigation increases by 30 million mu(2 million hm2). Some 100 million mu(6.67 million hm2) of farmland is put under efficient water-saving irrigation. Small hydropower installed capacity increases by 10 million kW. 2 million households of rural residents are provided with hydropower by small power stations to replace other fuels.

3.5 Development goals for water ecological environment protection. Water function zones of major rivers and lakes obviously have better water quality. Water quality of urban water supply sources meets relevant standards totally. Water quantity of river and lake ecological environment is basically guaranteed. Water systems interconnectivity of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs improve gradually. Functions of water ecological systems are gradually restored. Soil and water loss in key areas is effectively dealt with. Excessive extraction of groundwater is restrained to some extents. The balance between groundwater extraction and replenishment is gradually achieved. Water quality compliance rate of the water function zones of the important rivers and lakes in the whole country rises to 80%. The land area under comprehensive soil and water loss control increases by 250,000 km2.

3.6 Development goals for water sector reform. Decisive achievements are made during water sector reform in important fields and key steps. The mechanism for stable increase of investment in water sector is further perfected. The water right, water pricing, and water market reforms make important progress. A favorable operation mechanism for water projects is basically established. Water governance by law is fully enhanced. The most stringent water resources management system is basically established. The regulation system for water ecological progress is gradually set up. Water use management is fully enhanced. The measurement rates of urban and industrial water use and agricultural irrigation water use in large and key medium-sized irrigation districts reach over 85% and 70%, respectively.

4 Major Tasks

4.1 Making efforts to boost capability of flood control, drought relief, and disaster mitigation. Further perfecting the flood control, drought relief, and disaster relief system; keeping on implementing control of important tributaries and small and medium-sized rivers; stepping up infrastructural construction for urban flood control and flood drainage; improving flood control and drought relief emergency management system; further strengthening flood control and drought relief command and dispatch.

4.2 Strengthening the development of a water saving society. Boosting water conservation in agriculture; accelerating the promotion of technical transformation for water conservation in industry; encouraging the utilization of non-traditional water sources;building the market access mechanism for water saving products;publicizing in an all-out way the ideas of water conservation and water sanitation.

4.3 Speeding up the implementation of major water projects for water conservation and water supply. Speeding up the construction of key projects for water conservation in agriculture, major water diversion projects, major water source projects, key projects for harnessing rivers and lakes, and projects in new large-scale irrigation districts.

4.4 Further strengthening rural water infrastructure construction. Improving the quality and efficacy of rural drinking water;strengthening farmland irrigation and drainage works construction;fulfilling construction tasks such as renewal and transformation of the irrigation and drainage pumping stations; actively developing water management in pasturing areas; strengthening small hydropower station construction; promoting improvement of rural rivers and ponds.

4.5 Sparing no efforts to promote water ecological progress. Enhancing water resources protection; strengthening ecological construction for soil and water conservation; promoting water ecological protection and restoration of rivers and lakes;interconnecting water systems of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs;strengthening control and restoration of the groundwater excessive extraction areas; building eco-friendly water projects.

4.6 Taking practical measures to strengthen management of water-related affairs. Enforcing the most stringent water resources management; strengthening management and protection of rivers and lakes; promoting modernization of operation management for water projects; strengthening supervision and management of water project construction market; strengthening flood risk control.

4.7 Deepening water sector reform in key fields. Improving the management system of water resources; actively pushing forward the building of water right regulations; deepening water pricing reform; perfecting the diversified mechanism for stable increase of investment in water sector; promoting reform of water project construction management system; deepening the reform of water project management system.

4.8 Enhancing water governance by law in an all-round manner. Promoting water legislation for key fields in a coordinated way; saving no efforts to strengthen water-related administrative law enforcement;effectively resolving water-related dissensions and administrative disputes; enhancing water administration by law in an all-round manner;continuing publicity and education of water laws and regulations.

4.9 Keeping on upgrading the capability of water sector. Enhancing innovation on water sector science and technologies;strengthening planning and basic work of water affairs; strengthening the building of professional team; strengthening capacity building for grass-roots water service system.

4.10 Keeping on upgrading informatization of water governance. Strengthening the construction of the stations and networks for collecting water-related information; building a complete water quantity and quality monitoring system; saving no efforts to promote informatization of water governance.