Water pollution targeted by new plan

China released an action plan on Thursday to tackle serious water pollution, aiming to intensify government efforts to reduce emissions of pollutants and to protect supplies.

The plan will fuel economic growth, with related services on safeguarding the environment becoming a new growth engine, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

The State Council released the Action Plan for Water Pollution Prevention and Control after two years of research and revisions since it was first drafted in April 2013.

It said China will see a better water environment with reduced pollution for both surface and groundwater, safer drinking water and an improved coastal environment by 2020.

The plan calls for 70 percent of the water in the country's seven major river basins, including the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, to be in good condition by 2020, and for a continued improvement to 75 percent by 2030.

The amount of "black and smelly water" in urban areas will be reduced to 10 percent by 2020 and will largely disappear by 2030.

Two years ago, 15.7 percent of the 4,778 stations monitoring groundwater detected "very bad" quality, the lowest level on a five-tier system, according to the ministry. But under the plan, this proportion will be reduced to 15 percent by 2020.

To reach these goals, outdated production capacity will be phased out in water polluting industries, the efficiency of water use will be increased and market forces will be allowed to further optimize water consumption.

Chen Ming, deputy head of the Water Resources Bureau under the Ministry of Water Resources - a major participant in implementing the plan - said it is a major step targeting water pollution.

It will tackle a series of problems including flooding, drought and water shortages, which are obstacles to sustained economic growth, Chen said.

The Environment Ministry - another major participant in the plan - said its implementation will increase GDP by 5.7 trillion yuan ($910 billion) and create 3.9 million jobs in non-rural sectors.

The ministry also estimates that the service sector will have a larger say in the economy. The plan calls for increased investment in related fields - including advanced technology to curb pollution - to provide the environmental protection industry with a new "engine" producing added value of 1.9 trillion yuan, the ministry said.

Chen said the plan will help to build a prevention and control system led by governments and with wide participation from society.

Xu Wei contributed to this story.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn