Putian shares experiences about its outstanding watershed management

By Zhu Bochen: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, October 18, 2019

Mulanxi River, one of the six major rivers in southeastern China's Fujian province, has provided surface water to generations of locals in Putian city. [Photo by Lun Xiaoxuan/China.com.cn]

Putian city of southeastern China's Fujian province has been gaining much recognition in recent years for its outstanding watershed management of the Mulanxi River, fully implementing the central government idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

Flood prevention

Putian city has stepped up construction of riverbank projects in recent years. Up to now, a 15.54-stretch of the river channel has been restored, and dams totaling 28.03 km in length have been built, along with 18 reinforced sluices for reservoirs.

Since 2012, Putian has successfully built an embankment providing protection to resist once-in-50-year flood. Although the city was hit by torrential rain on 61 occasions and typhoons for 35 times in the past eight years, no major flood happened in the Mulanxi River basin, and no casualties were reported.

A "three-point" management

With the rapid growth of the local economy and urban population, the problem of water pollution was also one the Mulanxi River faced. In this regard, the local government of Putian attached great importance to coordinating water quality and the ecological conservation.

A "three-point" management approach was introduced by the local government including disaster prevention, ecological conservation, and resort construction. In addition to reconstructing dams, a water body system of almost 200 kilometers have been developed as the filter for any contaminants.

In regard to resort construction, parks and museums along the Mulanxi River have been fully utilized to highlight the water conservancy projects in Putian. A lake has been built on the old river channel both to improve the capacity of flood control storage and to add natural elements to the urban environment.

A basin-level management

Since 2014, the local government has been implementing a basin-level management approach in order to comprehensively address four issues including water resources, water environment, water ecology and coping with water disasters.

One of the examples is Dongzhen Reservoir. As the major source of local drinking water, it once struggled to achieve good water quality while ensuring overall supply. Due to the coordinated planning to improve the ecology of the Mulanxi River basin, incorporating mountains, forests, grasslands and wetlands, the water quality has been rated as above the national level II since 2014.

In 2017, a river and lake chief system was introduced in Putian, effectively promoting networked management and informatization development. The general public are also encouraged to participate in the management process. Thus, a coordinated governance mechanism of collaboration and benefit for all has been built.

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