BEIJING, May 6 -- China must work harder to ensure safe drinking water in rural areas, where about 110 million people still lack clean drinking water, the Ministry of Water Resources said Tuesday.

Resolving drinking water safety by 2015 for rural residents, including more than 15 million teachers and students in the countryside, is one of the government's priorities.

"We must make sure this goal is fulfilled," Minister of Water Resources, Chen Lei, said at a national video conference.

Since 2005, China has spent nearly 180 billion yuan (about 29 billion U.S. dollars) on drinking water projects, benefiting 410 million people.

In the coming two years, the government will build more facilities, strengthen water quality control and step up supervision.

Industrial pollution is blamed for polluting rivers and lakes during the past three decades.