Chinese Water Law
Water Law (2002 and 2016 Amendment)
The Water Law of the People’s Republic of China (shuǐ fǎ) was enacted in 2002, replacing the 1988 Water Law, and was amended in 2016. The Law establishes the legal framework for water resource development, utilisation, protection, and management. Key principles include: unified management of water resources with combined administration of surface and groundwater; priority allocation of water for domestic use; water conservation as a fundamental policy; and protection of water quality.
The 2016 amendment strengthened water resource management by introducing the three red lines (sān tiáo hóngxiàn) policy: controlling total water use, improving water use efficiency, and limiting pollutant discharge into water bodies. The amendment also reinforced provisions on water rights, water abstraction permits, and water environmental protection, and increased penalties for unlawful water abstraction and pollution.
Water Pollution Prevention Law
The Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law (shuǐ wūrǎn fángzhì fǎ) was first enacted in 1984, with significant revisions in 1996, 2008, and 2017. The Law prohibits the discharge of pollutants into drinking water source reserves, adopts a total pollutant discharge control system, and requires enterprises to obtain discharge permits for wastewater discharge. The 2017 revision introduced river basin management as a core principle, recognising that water pollution must be managed at the watershed level rather than within administrative boundaries.
The Law establishes water environmental quality standards set by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and pollutant discharge standards for industrial sectors and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Local governments may adopt more stringent standards than the national minimum. The Law imposes liability for pollution damage under the polluter pays principle, with strict liability for environmental harm and joint and several liability among multiple polluters.
South-North Water Transfer
The South-North Water Transfer Project (nán shuǐ běi diào) is the world’s largest inter-basin water transfer project, conveying water from the Yangtze River basin to the water-scarce northern regions via three routes: the Eastern Route, Central Route, and Western Route (under planning). The project transfers approximately 45 billion cubic metres of water annually and has generated complex legal and regulatory challenges relating to water rights allocation, water pricing, and environmental protection.
The Regulation on the Management of the South-North Water Transfer Project (2014) establishes the legal framework for project operation, including water allocation rules, water quality protection zones, pricing mechanisms, and dispute resolution procedures. The Regulation designates the Ministry of Water Resources as the lead agency for project management and establishes a dedicated project management office with authority to coordinate among receiving provinces.
Water Rights
China’s water rights system operates under the combination of state ownership of water resources and the water abstraction permit regime (qǔshuǐ xǔkě zhìdù). Abstraction permits are granted by the Ministry of Water Resources or its provincial counterparts, specifying the quantity, purpose, and period of abstraction. The Regulation on the Implementation of the Water Abstraction Permit System (2006) establishes application procedures, permit conditions, and enforcement provisions.
The water rights trading (shuǐquán jiāoyì) system has been piloted since 2014 in water-scarce regions including Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Hebei. The pilots allow holders of water abstraction permits to trade water savings through the China Water Exchange platform. The Water Law recognises the transferability of water use rights under the principle of water rights with a use nature, and a national water rights trading framework is under development.
Pollution Discharge Permits
The pollutant discharge permit system (wūrǎnwù páifàng xǔkě zhìdù) is administered under the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the Regulation on the Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits (2021). Pollutant discharge permits set limits on the quantity and concentration of specific pollutants (including COD, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and heavy metals) that may be discharged into water bodies.
Permit holders must install continuous emissions monitoring equipment, submit regular discharge reports, and maintain discharge logs. The permit system operates under a unified platform managed by the MEE, with public access to permit information and discharge data. Violations of permit conditions attract administrative penalties including fines, suspension of operations, and in serious cases, criminal liability for environmental pollution.
River Chief System
The River Chief System (hézhǎng zhì) is an innovative governance mechanism introduced in 2016 that assigns responsibility for the protection of specific rivers and lakes to designated government officials at provincial, municipal, county, and township levels. The System was codified in the Regulation on the Implementation of the River Chief System (2017) and subsequently incorporated into the Water Law by the 2016 amendment.
River Chiefs are responsible for water quality monitoring, pollution control, ecological restoration, and coordination among government departments with water-related responsibilities. The System has been credited with measurable improvements in water quality across Chinese rivers, particularly in the Yangtze and Pearl River basins. Performance evaluation of River Chiefs is linked to the ecological civilisation indicators used in cadre assessment, creating strong incentives for compliance.
Groundwater Protection
Groundwater protection is governed by specific provisions in the Water Law and the Regulation on the Prevention and Control of Groundwater Pollution (2011). The regulatory framework requires: registration of groundwater abstraction points; restrictions on abstraction in over-exploited areas; prohibition of waste injection into aquifers; remediation obligations for contaminated sites; and monitoring of groundwater quality. The territorial government system under the River Chief System has been extended to groundwater management, with Lake Chiefs and Groundwater Chiefs designated in some regions. China has committed to achieving sustainable groundwater use by 2030 under the national water resources strategic plan.