The State Council has approved the Action Plan for Protecting and Controlling Water Bodies Near Communities, which was forwarded by the General Office of the State Council on July 9, 2026, to provincial, autonomous region, and municipal governments, as well as all ministries and agencies under the State Council for implementation. The plan was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The plan defines water bodies near communities as secondary tributaries of rivers or below, as well as ponds and ditches, that are adjacent to residential areas and closely related to daily life and production. The effort adheres to principles of serving the public, problem-oriented, focusing on key areas, and addressing both symptoms and root causes, with emphasis on comprehensive, systematic, and source-based treatment. It extends the focus to county towns and rural areas, covering both surface water and groundwater.
By 2030, the plan sets four main targets: basically completing the investigation and rectification of water pollution in provincial-level and above industrial parks; basically eliminating black and odorous water bodies in counties and townships; basically controlling the direct impact of livestock and poultry farming pollution on water bodies in key areas; and ensuring that water bodies near communities are basically free of abnormal color, odor, and foreign matter.
The plan launches five campaigns. The industrial park campaign targets environmental infrastructure, wastewater collection and discharge control, and risk prevention. The county and township black and odorous water body campaign requires inventorying, assigning responsibility, and tailoring solutions. The livestock waste comprehensive treatment campaign focuses on major breeding counties and karst areas, promoting the construction of resource utilization facilities. The rural river, lake, and reservoir campaign addresses siltation, shoreline encroachment, and other issues through list-based management. The small and micro water body campaign implements tiered regulation and classification treatment for ponds and ditches around homes, aiming to create beautiful water cells.
For source control, the plan calls for strengthening pollution prevention in industrial enterprises through cleaner production and performance grading; accelerating urban sewage collection and treatment facilities; promoting appropriate-scale farming and improving waste collection systems; and extending the investigation and regulation of outfalls into water bodies near communities, with a tiered monitoring and supervision system.
Enhanced supervision will be achieved by expanding monitoring networks, intensifying law enforcement, and improving foundational support capabilities. The plan encourages private capital participation and financial institution support, and requires pioneering Beautiful China zones to complete tasks first, with local governments assuming primary responsibilities.