China’s “War on Pollution”: 10 Years of the Water Ten Plan

China’s “War on Pollution”: 10 Years of the Water Ten Plan

By Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), Green Jiangnan 24 June, 2025

How did China transform its water quality in just 10 years? To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Water Ten Plan, IPE & Green Jiangnan’s report highlights China's key achievements in water pollution control since its launch

On March 22, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and Green Jiangnan jointly released the report “The Path to Lucid Waters: A Decade of Clean Water Actions in China” (hereinafter referred to as The Path to Lucid Waters report).

The report examines China’s 10-year progress in water protection since the Water Ten Plan…

The report examines China’s historic progress in water environmental protection over the past ten years since the implementation of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (the “Water Ten Plan”), focusing on institutional innovation and multi-stakeholder participation.

It also outlines future efforts to deepen the battle to protect clear waters and advance the goal of building a Beautiful China.

Since the 1980s, extensive development practices have led to severe water quality degradation, ecological damage, and environmental risks in some regions, harming public health and hindering sustainable socio-economic development. To safeguard national water security, the State Council issued the Water Ten Plan in April 2015, marking its tenth anniversary this year. As environmental organizations long committed to water pollution control, IPE and Green Jiangnan established a joint research team to review and summarize the governance processes and achievements during this period.

China adopted a multi-stakeholder approach – engaging various entities in monitoring & pollution control

The research team concluded that since the implementation of the Water Ten Plan, China has embarked on a path of multi-stakeholder water governance. By establishing large-scale monitoring and pollutant discharge permit systems, prioritizing water quality and pollution source information disclosure, encouraging public oversight, strengthening environmental law enforcement, consolidating governmental responsibilities and mobilizing market forces, China has successfully advanced initiatives such as protection of drinking water sources, remediation of urban black and odorous water bodies, protection of the Yangtze River and Yellow River, comprehensive treatment of key sea areas, and control of rural pollution.

These efforts have significantly improved water quality over the past decade, achieving historic progress in water pollution control and enhancing the well-being of hundreds of millions of people.

Significant Expansion of Water Quality Monitoring and Information Disclosure

Under the guidance of the Water Ten Plan, the national surface water monitoring network expanded dramatically over the past decade. The number of national monitoring sections increased from 972 in 2015 to 3,646 during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025).

From 2015-2025, the no. of surface water monitoring stations upped from 972 to 3,646

Water environment information disclosure has become more systematic, timely, comprehensive, and user-friendly. Starting in January 2016, all provincial-level regions began publishing monthly reports on urban drinking water sources, while county-level source water quality reports were made public from 2018.

In November 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) launched real-time data updates from national surface water quality automatic monitoring stations, which were refreshed every four hours.

MEE started city-lvl water environmental quality rankings in 2019…

…the public release of results, amplified by media = recognition for high-ranking cities & pressure to improve for low-ranking ones

For large-scale water quality monitoring, the MEE initiated city-level water environment quality rankings in 2019. Quarterly reports now publish lists of the top 30 and bottom 30 cities based on the City Water Quality Index (CWQI), as well as the top 30 most improved and least improved cities.

The public release of evaluation results by environmental authorities, amplified through traditional and social media, has generated widespread social impact. High-ranking cities received recognition and motivation, while low-ranking ones faced pressure to improve.

Innovative Models Engage Public Oversight

The remediation of black and odorous water bodies and drinking water source protection, both key priorities under the Water Ten Plan, attracted broad public participation through robust information disclosure. In February 2016, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) and the former Ministry of Environmental Protection jointly launched a WeChat platform for public reporting on urban water environments.

In 2020, it was linked to the Blue Map app and over 10,000 public reports received follow-up responses from relevant government departments. In 2017, the SEE Foundation, IPE, Friends of Nature, and River Watchers, along with more than 20 NGOs, conducted identification, reporting, and oversight of the remediation of urban black and odorous water bodies, earning recognition from authorities.

By 2019, 2,804 drinking water sources had been remediated plus >10k issues resolved…

…in 2020, ~95% of centralised drinking water sources of cities at the prefecture-lvl or above met standards…

During the national drinking water source protection campaign, local governments published monthly problem lists and progress updates, inviting the media and public supervision. By the end of 2019, a total of 2,804 drinking water sources had been remediated, 10,363 issues had been resolved, a number of long-standing problems had been corrected, and drinking water safety for 770 million residents had been improved. In 2020, 94.5% of centralized drinking water sources of cities at the prefecture-level or above met standards.

Under the River Chief System, civil society representatives like Yun Jianli, founder of Green Han River, were appointed as “civil river and lake chiefs” .Organizations such as Chengdu Green Oxygen and Guizhou Qianren Ecology collaborated with governments to recruit and manage civil river chiefs.

Transparent Regulation Mobilizes Market Forces

The Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information (for Trial) implemented in 2008, marked the institutionalization of environmental information disclosure in China. The 2015 revised Environmental Protection Law unprecedentedly dedicated a chapter to “Information Disclosure and Public Participation”. The pollutant discharge permit system further advanced the disclosure of water pollution regulation data. The number of corporate environmental violation records compiled in IPE’s Blue Map database grew from 180,000 in 2014 to over 3.2 million by February 2025.

The pollutant discharge permit system further advanced disclosure…

…corporate environmental violation records in the Blue Map database grew to >3.2mn by Feb 2025

The expansion of environmental information disclosure has spurred public oversight and market-driven applications like green supply chains and green finance. By the end of 2024, IPE and Green Jiangnan, through the Green Choice Initiative, facilitated the communication, rectification and disclosure of over 31,000 suppliers, many addressing wastewater issues. They have also assisted financial institutions in screening the environmental performance of more than 3 million loan recipients.

Multi-Stakeholder Participation Drives Source Control

Since 2014, the former Ministry of Environmental Protection required national key monitored enterprises, urban wastewater treatment facilities, and large-scale livestock farms to publicly disclose real-time emission data – a global first in large-scale real-time pollution source disclosure. By April 2024, automatic monitoring data from 70,000+ discharge units nationwide were publicly accessible online, including 40,000+ water-related enterprises. Regions like Shandong, Zhejiang, and Hebei have established exemplary disclosure practices.

National key monitored enterprises, wastewater treatment facilities & large-scale livestock farms now required to publicly disclose real-time emission data…

…a global first in large-scale real-time pollution source disclosure

The data-based “micro-reporting” social supervision model allows the public, environmental protection organizations and local environmental protection departments to form a united front. As of December 2024, environmental protection organizations such as Green Jiangnan, Qingyuan Environmental Protection, Wuhu Ecology, Green Qilu, Qinggan Environment, Green Taihang, Air Man, Green Jianghuai, and “Blue Map” netizens have prompted key polluting enterprises to make public responses to their online monitoring data exceeding the standard for a total of 13,996 times, of which more than 8,000+ of them are water related cases.

Remarkable Achievements in a Decade of Water Governance

A decade of nationwide efforts saw substantial investment. According to the Ministry of Finance, cumulative expenditures on water pollution control from 2017 to 2022 reached RMB673.31bn. China’s wastewater treatment capacity also expanded continuously, forming the world’s largest drainage and wastewater treatment infrastructure. Data from the China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook show that in 2023, urban drainage pipeline density reached 12.67 km/km², with a wastewater treatment rate of 98.69%, of which 97.31% was centralized treatment.

>RMB673bn spent on pollution control between 2017-2022…

…black/odorous water in prefecture cities largely eliminated…

…Grade I-III water quality rose from 71.2% to 90.4% in the 10 yrs while Grade V dropped from 9.2% to 0.6%

Intensified water pollution control has brought transformative improvements. Black and odorous water bodies in prefecture-level cities were largely eliminated.

The proportion of national monitoring sections with Grade I-III water quality rose from 71.2% in 2014 to 90.4% in 2024, while inferior Grade V water dropped from 9.2% to 0.6%. Centralized drinking water sources and coastal waters also saw quality improvements.

A decade of progress is reflected not only in data but also in the eyes of the public. In the “Environmental Protection at Your Fingertips” campaign co-organized by the China Environmental Journalists Association and IPE, netizens shared approximately 270,000 water-related photos, documenting the “beautiful transformation” of rivers and lakes.

Nine Recommendations for Future Progress

While celebrating progress, the report underscores that water environment improvements remain at an early stage, with persistent imbalances and incoordination in water ecological protection, widespread ecological damage, and the drying of some rivers and lakes, gaps in urban-rural infrastructure, challenges in non-point source pollution control, severe groundwater contamination, and ongoing marine pollution and ecosystem degradation. To achieve long-term goals of human-water harmony and a Beautiful China, further efforts are essential.

However, the report notes water improvements are still early-stage and offers 9 recommendations…

The report puts forward comprehensive recommendations for advancing China’s water governance system. It advocates for expanding water environment information disclosure to build a governance system with government leadership, enterprise as the main body and public participation .

The report emphasizes protecting urban drinking water sources through environment-health oriented approaches while promoting innovative solutions for rural water source conservation. It calls for integrating pollution source data to enhance regulatory oversight and public monitoring, particularly ensuring real-time disclosure of automatic monitoring data from key pollutant discharge units.

The recommendations also include strengthening prevention and control of groundwater and coastal water pollution, strengthening source control measures for emerging pollutants, and advancing wastewater treatment that simultaneously reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the report stresses the importance of implementing ecological zoning controls and of holistically manage water resources, aquatic environments and ecosystems, with the ultimate goal of creating beautiful rivers and lakes that exemplify harmonious coexistence between humans and water systems.

Further readings

• 2023 State of Ecology & Environment Report Review – How has China’s water quality progressed in 2023? Check out our review for a blow-by-blow account of water quality movements by key rivers & reservoirs for 2023 as well as historic trends since the release of its 14FYP in 2021
• 2023 Marine Ecology & Environment Status Review – The marine ecology & environment of China continues to improve, with a remarkable 85% of its coastal waters classified as ‘Excellent/Good’. Dive deeper into our review of MEE’s annual report to learn more
• Pressing Water Challenges Require Urgent Action – Water expert Ma Jun tells us why China’s fragile water resources from sucking the life out of China’s economy.

More on Latest

• International Lessons to Manage Hong Kong’s 7 Billion Dollar Water Loss Problem – Last year HK’s metered water loss hit a record high, putting it far off track from the national target. HKU’s Dr. Lee & Prof. Shih unmask the bigger issue & share 6 case studies & 3 lessons for HK to control its water loss
• 2024 State of Ecology & Environment – Freshwater – With the 14FYP nearing completion, what progress has China made on freshwater quality? Check out our review on key targets and trends in China’s water pollution control
• 2024 State of Ecology & Environment – Marine – The marine ecology & environment of China remained stable, but we see slight deterioration for the first time since 2018 – ‘Excellent/Good’ coastal waters has slightly dipped to 83.9% this year. Dive into our yearly review to learn more