China has made great achievements in improving water quality in recent years, said Hou Li’an, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the China Environmental Protection Annual Meeting on July 13 in Xining, Qinghai province.

Hou said the quality of both surface and river water has become better since 2010. The ratio of water sections with Grade I to III quality increased to 67.8 per cent in 2010, up from 59.9 per cent in 2010. Meanwhile, the share of Grade-V sections dropped to 7.8 per cent. In addition, 90.4 per cent of the country’s urban centralized drinking water attained standards in 2016, increasing by 13.9 per cent since 2010.

Besides, fruitful results have been reaped from the country’s efforts to eliminate black and smelly water. By July 11, 794 out of the 2,100 black and smelly water sources in China were treated.

However, China’s rapid urbanization and industrialization call for greater efforts to treat water pollution. The country plans to adopt an innovation-driven system and enhance monitoring to cope with the situation.