It was learned from the 2nd River and Lake Chief System and River and Lake Protection Summit Forum held in Suzhou on the 21st that the Ministry of Water Resources, together with relevant departments in various places, organized a special rectification of rivers and lakes to "clean up the four chaos" and the utilization of the Yangtze and Yellow River shorelines. 223,000 outstanding problems in rivers and lakes were rectified through special actions such as clearing up outstanding problems that hindered the flow of water in rivers, and the appearance of rivers and lakes across the country has undergone historic changes.
It is understood that with the comprehensive establishment of the river and lake chief responsibility system, the control boundaries of 1.23 million kilometers of rivers and 2,057 lakes have been clarified. The water ecological environment continues to improve, and the proportion of surface water sections nationwide with Class I to III water quality increased by 20.1 percentage points compared with 2016. The awareness of social participation has been significantly enhanced. By promoting the system of river and lake chiefs into enterprises, campuses, communities and rural areas, the number of river protection volunteers has reached more than 7 million, and the atmosphere of the whole society's concern and participation in river and lake management and protection has become increasingly strong.
Zhu Chengqing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, pointed out that the comprehensive implementation of the river and lake chief system is fully in line with my country's national conditions and water conditions. It is a fundamental and pioneering major policy measure in the field of river and lake protection and management in my country, and is a major institutional innovation with strong vitality. .