China's Ministry of Water Resources: This year, water supply security for 30.24 million rural residents has been improved

China News Service, Beijing, September 30 (Reporter Chen Su) China's Ministry of Water Resources announced on September 30 that since the beginning of this year, water supply security for 30.24 million rural residents has been improved.

On the same day, the State Council Information Office held a series of press conferences with the theme of "Getting Started with the 15th Five-Year Plan". Li Guoying, Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources of China, said at the meeting that since the beginning of this year, the water conservancy department has completed the construction of 2012 rural water supply projects, strengthened the construction and management of small rural water supply projects, and improved the water supply security level for the 30.24 million rural population. It is predicted that by the end of this year, the penetration rate of tap water in rural areas will reach 97%.

Regarding the work to ensure water supply safety during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Ni Wenjin, director of the Department of Rural Water Resources and Hydropower of the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the Ministry of Water Resources will anchor "rural areas basically have modern living conditions" and work with relevant departments and localities to further promote the integration of urban and rural water supply, large-scale centralized water supply, standardization of small water supply, and county-level water supply. The "3+1" standardized construction and management and protection model of unified management and professionalization have taken effect. We strive to achieve 98% rural tap water penetration rate nationwide, 78% rural population coverage of large-scale water supply projects, and 90% county unified management by 2030, further improving the level of rural water supply security.

Ni Wenjin also pointed out that water quality assurance will be further strengthened, and local governments will be guided to prioritize water diversion projects and established reservoirs and other backbone water sources for replacement of high-quality water sources, and continue to promote the delineation of township-level water source protection zones and pollution prevention and control work to ensure drinking water safety from the source; further improve the water supply security system for both emergency and emergency use, and guide various localities to improve emergency water supply plans to effectively respond to various natural disasters and emergencies such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes.