Sustainable Strategy for Implementing the National Program for Urban Water Management in China

Shao Yisheng
(Urban Water Resources Center of MOC)

(ABSTRACT )

1. The main task of Urban infra-Institutional Experts (UllE) is to assist International Institutional Experts in presenting suggestions on the reform of water management institutional system in Shijiazhuang city and to assist MOC to work out national strategy for the sustainable development of urban water management.

2. According to “Water Law of Peoples Republic of China”, China implements the system of “Combining integrated management with management by departments in various levels and under different ministries”. From Central to Local Govemments, urban water management is relevant with departments concerning water resources, urban construction, geo1ogical mineral resources, sanitation, environmental protection, Planning Committee and Price Bureau (shown as Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Government Organizations Involved in Urban Water Management

3.The water management functions of Central Government is performed mainly by Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Geological Mineral Resources, Ministry of Health, National Environmental Protection Agency and State Planning Committee (SPC) etc.. Ministry of Construction is in charge of urban water supply, water conservation, sewage and wastewater treatment, flood drainage and control, and development, utilisation and protection of ground water in the planned urban area. Ministry of Water Resources is in charge of planning and assignment of surface water, review and approval of license for surface water taking and ground water developing. Ministry of Geological Mineral Resources is in charge of review and approval of groundwater reserves for the concentrated urban water supply sources. Ministry of Health is in charge of monitoring and management of sanitation of drinking water. National Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of charging sewage and wastewater, and water pollution protection. State Planning Committee (SPC) is in charge of the micro-control of urban water prices.

4. Provincial and autonomous region governments (governments at provincial level) have the powers to manage urban water resources according to relevant laws and regulations within their own administrative zones. The functions of urban water management of governments at provincial level is mainly exercised by Provincial Water Resources Bureau, Provincial Construction Committee, Provincial Department of Geological Mineral Resources, Provincial Department of Sanitation, Provincial Environmental Protection Agency and Provincial Price Bureau and so on.The organization of provincial water management department and definition of their functions are determined and adjusted by Provincial People’s Congress and Provincial People’s Government in the form of local policies and laws, which are based on national laws and policies of Central Government.

5. The cities in China can be classified into 4 categories. They are municipalities directly under the Central Government such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, secondary provincial cities which amounted of 16, prefectural cities, which amounted to 201 until 1996,cities with county level, which reached to 446 until 1996. Except Shenzhen, in most cities water management institutions under Municipal Governments are corresponded with that under Provincial Governments and Central Government. These institutions include Municipal Water Resources Bureau, Municipal Construction Bureau, Municipal Sanitation Bureau, Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, Municipal Geological Mineral Resources Bureau and Municipal Price Bureau etc.. Municipal Construction Committee is a main department in charge of urban water management. Water Conservation Office under Municipal Construction Committee is in charge of planned urban water utilisation, water conservation, development and utilisation of ground water in the planned urban area and collecting of ground water resource charges. In many cities above profectural level, Public Utility Bureau are set up and in charge of urban water supply, drainage and treatment of sewage and wastewater.

6.Shijiazhuang is a profectural city. The setting up and definition of functions of water management departments in the city are typical in the cities of same category. The organization and definition of functions of each department are as Appendix 1.

7. China is a water-shorted country and water quantity per capital is some 2300 m3 while fresh water quantity per capital is only 910m3. In the mean time, the water resources distribute unevenly in space and time. In cities, the fresh water quality per capital is far below the national average level because of the heavy water demand by advanced industries and high density of population. Water quantity per capital in such largest cities as Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin are less than 400 m. Water shortage has seriously retarded the urban economic development.

8. According to some statistics, more than 300 cities in China are facing the problem of water shortage at different degree and more than 100 cities are seriously water-shorted. Reasons for urban water-shortage involves many aspects and they are insufficient water supply facilities, water resources shortage and water pollution. But the basic reasons lay on such factors as insufficient water supply, irrational demand and bad demand management. Deficient water supply and weak controlling of water demand are two aspects of urban water-shortage. These reasons are concemed with insufficient investment, long-time low water tariff which lead to over water demands, irrational water utilisation and waste of water. It has been all pointed that water pollution is the biggest problem that destroy water resources and environment and make the urban water problem become worse and worse.

9.Concerning urban water demand, the report points out that because the prediction of water demand pays too much attention to the prevision and future needs and neglects the nationality of forecasting, the predicted figures of various sectors are conspicuously on the big side. Besides the limitation of predicting methods, the bigger results are related to the predictor‘s weak consciousness of demand controlling. In the light of years of water using practice and urban development characters in China and with reference to the water utilisation practices in foreign countries, urban water demands by the year 2000, 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 have been predicted by combining the quota for water needing quantity per capital with the trend analysis method.

10.On the basis of the facts that gross water resources quantity is in sufficient while hydro-environment is deteriorating due to over increasing wastewater emission. It is pointed that the sustainable urban economic and social development should be based on the sustainable development and utilisation of urban water resources. The concept that water resources developing and water conservation is equally important is not suitable with the Chinese condition and should be changed. The sustainable developing and utilisation of urban water resources should comply with the principle that water conservation is first important, pollution cure is the basic way and various water resources should be developed. The principle is also the guideline in making urban water management policies and water planning. Besides the surface water and ground water, the meaning of various water resources embodies the using of rainwater, desalination of seawater, seawater utilisation, reuse of wastewater resources. The reuse of wastewater should gradually become the main resource to be developed.

Fig. 2 Propasol Organizations Involed in Urban Water Services

11. It‘s considered in the report that the sustainable social and economic development must be based on the sustainable development and utilisation of urban water resources and must be based on the scientific water quantity and quality management, and the reform of water tariff. Water quantity management should put emphasis on the controlling of water demand, the adjustment of industrial and water consummating structure and the comprehensive utilisation of water resources. Awareness and enhancing of water demand control is much important for China. It is pointed that delivering water from water abundant area to water-shorted area, without making good advantage of local water resources, effective controlling of water pollution and reasonable reusing of waste water, will lead to drying of Yangtze River, just as the situation of Yellow River. The over-water delivering will also result in consequence that there is no water to delivery and will also lead to much more water pollution and waste of water.

12. The objectives of water quality management are to minimize the quantity of sewage/waste water, to improve the quantity of sewage/waste water management and/or re-utilisation and to enhance the protection of water sources so as to control the water supply quality systematically and ultimately. It is pointed in the reported that water supply quality management is main part of water demand management and main task of water supply quality is to meet the ever- increasing water supply quality demand by consumers. The deterioration of water sources pollution bring up enormous difficult. In this report, Rules on Urban Water Supply Quality Administration promulgated on January 7, 1999 have been studied and analysed comprehensively. lt‘s considered that Rules on Urban Water Supply Quality Administration embodies the rationality of the system of co-operation and restricting each other among water supply enterprises, the industrial monitoring organisations and administrative and monitoring sectors, and also reflects the principle of efficient and simple administration. The rules are also a basic and powerful guarantee for the sound urban water supply quality. It is also pointed that water supply quality should comply with the principle that water supply quality must surely guaranteed and should put emphasis on pollution cure. Water supply quality should also comply with principle of simplification of organisation and managing water according the law. The initiative of water companies and government al organisations should instimulated and National Water Supply Quality Monitoring Centre (NWSQMC), water supply quality monitoring centres at state level and local level centres should play their rules best in industrial supervising and monitoring.

13. The general contents of water tariff reform are to establish a rational water tariff system, to develop a set of water calculation methods, to set up and/or improve a hearing system for water tariff setting and approval, and to consummate water tariff monitoring system. The objective of water tariff reform is that in compliance with the demands of modern enterprise system, water supply companies should convert the old operation and management system into a new one, in which the enterprises can run their companies in dependently, assume sole responsibility for their own profits and losses, accumulate funds, assets and talent for the production and development of the enterprises, and held responsible for the civil responsibility in dependently. Guidelines on Urban Water Tariff Administration can provide a regulation to comply with in the course of water supply tariff setting and administration, promote the regulation are petfecting of urban water tariff system, and facilitate the transformation of running and management mechanism into a market oriented one.

14. With regard to the water management institution, the report considers that the construction of water management instruction must be suitable to the objective of water quintile and quality management and to that of water tariff reform, and must be co-ordinated with internal demands of cardinal task that is to fulfill the sustainable development and utilisation of water resources. The establishment of modern urban water management institution is the important part of the strategy for national urban water management. The old institutions formed under planning economic condition can not comply with the objective demand for establishing and developing socialism market economy, which has becoming more conspicuous in practice. It’s of urgency and of necessity to establish unified modern water management institutions and the atmosphere of on-going economic and political reform has created favorable condition for the establishment of urban water management institutions. The setting up of unified urban water institution should be in accordance with such principals as adjustment governmental water management institution, reducing water management sectors and management layers, transforming the governments function of water management to improve the management efficiency, dividing functions of government and the enterprises and reconstructing water supply enterprises in compliance with the modern enterprise system. The authorities and duties of production and running should be given back to the enterprise to promote them to face the market. The report has also presented suggestions for on-going institutional reform and establishing of the unified and modern water management institution. These suggestions include:

(1)To Establish Unified Modern Urban Water Management Institutions
The institutions should characterized by unification and concentration of the power so as to change the present low-efficiency situation of scattered and overlapped institutions. The whole urban water systems, which consists of water resources, water supply, water consumption, drainage, water conservation and waste water/sewage treatment, should be managed integrally in all round. The main functions of management institution are to develop and to implement the policies and plans and to play coordinating and monitoring rules in urban water management.
(2) To Set Up a Water Services Corporation (Group)
The main duty of Water Services Corporation (Group) is to make good advantages of the group to manage and operate the state-owned water supply enterprises. With the specific situations and characters in a certain city, the organization form of the Corporation (Group) can be different in different cities. But the Corporation (Group) should be integrally responsible for the conservation of water supply, drainage and waste water/sewage treatment, and also be responsible for the construction of relating projects.
(3) To Set Up Intermediary Agencies for Water Services and Monitoring
It’s essential to set up intermediary agencies to have management institutions, Water Services Corporation (Group) do their duties with rapt attention and to develop scientific management system of coordinating and restricting each other. The main functions of intermediary agency are to provide policy constancy for the governmental water management institution, to supply technological services for the Water Services Corporation (Group), to test urban water supply quality, to make technical determination for water accident in compliance with laws and regulations and to afford proposals and resolutions on water sources protection.

15.A serious of implementation plans are being considered by SPDC and MOC, with reference to the recently issued “ Rules on Urban Water Supply Quality Administration” and “ Guidelines on Urban Water Tariff Administration ‘‘. The plans include the selection of pilot cities, related training program and seminars. It is recommended in the report that Shijiazhuang should be considered in the plans so that in one side the successful experiences could be used for reference by other cities in China and in the other side, the reform schemes implemented in Shijiazhuang could be confirmed with the national policies better.