Phoenix TV:

My concern is regarding water supply issues in rural areas. Rural water supply is closely related to rural production and life. In recent years, the MWR has taken many measures to promote high-quality development of the rural water supply. Could you please elaborate on this? Thank you.

Chen Min:

I would like to invite Mr. Chen to answer this question.

Chen Mingzhong:

Rural water supply is closely related to the production and lives of rural residents. In recent years, the MWR has advanced high-quality development of the rural water supply, released guidelines on promoting high-quality development of the rural water supply, and clearly outlined the development path and next steps. The path involves implementing the "3+1" standardized construction and management model. The "3" refers to prioritizing urban-rural integrated water supply, scaling up centralized water supply, and standardizing and renovating small-scale water supply projects according to local conditions. The "1" refers to prioritizing project management and promoting county-level unified management. In May, the MWR held an on-site meeting in Guyuan, Ningxia, to deploy this work across the region. 

First, we prioritized advancing the integration of urban and rural water supplies. We confirmed that by leveraging existing major water resources and main connected pipeline networks, particularly along large water diversion projects and around large and medium-sized reservoirs, especially in the suburbs of cities, the goal is to connect, expand and merge networks wherever possible. Many regions nationwide have made significant progress in the urban-rural integrated water supply. For example, Shanghai and Jiangsu achieved urban-rural integrated water supply, and even Guyuan in Ningxia, once known for its water scarcity and poverty, has achieved urban-rural integrated water supply, with the same source, network, quality, regulation and service covering both urban and rural areas.

Second, we will vigorously promote the scaling-up of centralized water supply. In areas where it is difficult to extend coverage of urban pipelines, we will adhere to the principles of "building large, merging medium and reducing small systems" to develop centralized water supply on a larger scale. "Building large" refers to constructing rural water supply projects that can provide for more than 10,000 people and handle over 1,000 metric tons of water daily. "Merging medium" refers to encouraging the networking, connection, alignment and combination of medium-sized centralized water supply projects. "Reducing small" involves downsizing small-scale and decentralized water supply systems. In densely populated townships, we aim to plan and build large-scale water supply projects capable of providing for over 10,000 people and handling over 1,000 metric tons of water daily, using these as hubs to extend services to scattered users, thereby maximizing the reach of the large-scale water supply. For areas where large-scale projects are not feasible, we will implement standardized construction and renovation of small water supply systems. For remote and sparsely populated areas that cannot be integrated into larger systems, we will promote standardized construction tailored to local conditions, ensuring no household or individual is left out. The MWR has issued standards and norms for the standardized construction of small water supply projects, which include a set of standardized procedures and models to guide these renovations. For instance, as Zhejiang province has many mountainous areas and a relatively dispersed population, it initiated the renovation of 8,828 single-village water stations, transforming them into standardized systems to ensure no village or individual is left behind, thus achieving the goal of uniform water quality across urban and rural areas.

Finally, we will promote county-level unified management of the rural water supply. Using counties as units, we will select professional organizations to establish and improve specialized rural water supply management platforms, achieving unified management, monitoring, operations and services within each county, to ensure that professional management achieves full coverage. These efforts have produced significant results over the past few years. A total of 72.8 billion yuan has been allocated for construction of rural water supply projects this year, with over 3,500 projects completed, thereby improving the water supply security for 17.51 million rural residents. The coverage rate of tap water in rural areas has surpassed 90%, up by 10 percentage points compared to 10 years ago, providing more than 100 million additional rural residents with access to tap water. Going forward, we will continue to promote this progress following the "3+1" model, continuously enhancing the high-quality development of the rural water supply.

Thank you.