Development Reform and Environmental Protection [2021] No. 13

To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, all ministries and commissions of the State Council, and all directly affiliated institutions:

The resource utilization of wastewater refers to the harmless treatment of wastewater to meet specific water quality standards, using reclaimed water to replace conventional water sources for industrial production, municipal miscellaneous uses, residential life, ecological water replenishment, agricultural irrigation, soil recharge, etc., as well as extracting other resources and energy from wastewater. This is of great significance for optimizing the water supply structure, increasing water resources supply, reducing supply and demand contradictions, reducing water pollution, and ensuring water ecological security. Currently, the resource utilization of wastewater is still in its initial stage, and its development is insufficient. To quickly promote the resource utilization of wastewater, promote the expansion of solutions, address water environmental pollution and water ecological damage, and promote sustainable development, the following opinions are hereby put forward with the approval of the State Council.

I. Overall Requirements

(1) Guiding Ideology Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implementing the spirits of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second, third, fourth, and fifth plenary sessions of the 19th Central Committee, thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, practicing the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," adhering to the water management approach of "giving priority to water conservation, balanced spatial distribution, systematic governance, and two-pronged efforts," and in accordance with the arrangements of the Central Committee and the State Council, systematically promoting the resource utilization of wastewater in urban, industrial, and rural areas, focusing on water-scarce areas and water environment-sensitive areas, using the resource utilization of urban domestic sewage as a breakthrough point, and using industrial utilization and ecological water replenishment as the main approaches, improving design, strengthening coordination, improving policy measures, strengthening supervision and management, conducting pilot demonstrations, and promoting the sustainable development of wastewater resource utilization.

(2) Basic Principles

Prioritize water conservation and promote comprehensive planning. Adhering to the concept of "water conservation is pollution control," prioritizing water conservation, and strengthening the dual control of water consumption volume and intensity. The resource utilization of wastewater should be regarded as an important part of water conservation, and reclaimed water should be used to supplement unified allocation, comprehensively and systematically promoting the work of wastewater resource utilization.

Tailor measures to local conditions and adopt differentiated strategies. Based on local population endowments, water environment carrying capacity, development needs, and economic and technological levels, the work of wastewater resource utilization should be allocated by region, and differentiated measures should be implemented. Scientifically determine target tasks, reasonably select key areas and utilization approaches, and implement on-demand supply, on-use quality, and quality control.

Government guidance and market-driven approach. Strengthen standard constraints, strict supervision and assessment, and regulate the behavior of market entities. Improve the pricing mechanism, increase fiscal and financial incentives, guide social capital investment, and give full play to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources.

Technology-led and pilot demonstration. Enhance technological support, strengthen the research and development of key generic technologies and equipment, and promote the popularization of advanced and applicable technologies and processes. Conduct pilot demonstrations and explore replicable and generalizable models for wastewater resource utilization.

(3) Overall Goals By 2025, the efficiency of wastewater collection nationwide will be significantly improved, the wastewater treatment capacity of county-level cities and cities will basically meet the needs of local economic and social development, and wastewater treatment in water environment-sensitive areas will basically achieve upgraded standards; the reuse rate of reclaimed water in cities at the prefecture level and above nationwide will reach more than 25%, and more than 35% in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; the reuse of industrial water, and the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure and aquaculture tailwater will be significantly improved; and the policy system and market mechanism for wastewater resource utilization will be basically established. By 2035, a systematic, safe, environmentally friendly, and economical pattern of wastewater resource utilization will be formed.

II. Focus on Promoting Wastewater Resource Utilization in Key Areas

(4) Accelerate the promotion of urban domestic wastewater resource utilization. Systematically analyze the growing needs for production, living, and ecological water, and based on existing wastewater treatment plants, reasonably plan the infrastructure for reclaimed water utilization. In water-rich areas, combined with the needs of improving the water ecological environment quality of the basin, scientifically and reasonably determine the discharge limits of wastewater treatment plants, mainly focusing on stable and standard discharge, and implementing differentiated zoning upgrading and precise pollution control. In water-scarce areas, especially water quality-type water-scarce areas, on the premise of ensuring stable and standard discharge of wastewater, priority should be given to converting the standard discharge water into usable water resources, replenishing natural water bodies nearby, and promoting regional wastewater resource circulation and utilization. In resource-type water-scarce areas, implement on-demand supply and differentiated water use, reasonably arrange the layout and construction of wastewater treatment plant networks, and while promoting the use of reclaimed water for industrial production and municipal miscellaneous uses, strictly implement national water quality standards, and use reclaimed water as ecological water replenishment for rivers, lakes, and wetlands through phased water replenishment. Water-scarce areas with the necessary conditions can adopt decentralized and small-scale treatment and reuse facilities to treat domestic wastewater from residential communities, schools, and enterprises and institutions not covered by the municipal pipe network to achieve nearby reuse. High water-consuming industries such as thermal power, petrochemicals, steel, non-ferrous metals, papermaking, and dyeing projects that have the conditions to use reclaimed water but have not effectively utilized it should strictly control the issuance of new water extraction permits.

(5) Actively promote the resource utilization of industrial wastewater. Conduct enterprise water use audits, water efficiency benchmarking, and water-saving renovations, Promote the internal recycling of industrial water use within enterprises and improve the reuse rate. Promote the integrated optimization of water use systems among enterprises within industrial parks, Implement series water use, differentiated water use, multiple uses of one water source, and cascade utilization. Improve the construction of wastewater treatment facilities in industrial enterprises and parks Improve operational management levels and ensure that industrial wastewater is discharged up to standards. Carry out water quality monitoring and evaluation of industrial wastewater reuse and water management, and promote local and key water-using enterprises to build smart management platforms for industrial wastewater recycling.

(6) Steadily promote the resource utilization of agricultural and rural wastewater. Actively explore low-cost rural domestic wastewater treatment technologies and models suitable for rural realities. Select household treatment, village group treatment, and integration into urban sewage networks according to regional location and population density, promote modular process technologies that combine engineering and ecology, and promote the on-site resource utilization of rural domestic wastewater. Promote the combination of planting and breeding, and the treatment-promoting approach, using economical and applicable fertilization and energy processing technologies to promote the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and encourage the recycling of aquaculture tailwater.

III. Implementation of Key Projects for Wastewater Resource Utilization

(7) Implement the construction project of wastewater collection and resource utilization facilities. Promote the full coverage of urban sewage networks, increase the construction of urban sewage collection networks, eliminate blank areas in collection networks, and continuously improve sewage collection efficiency. Accelerate the construction of sewage collection branch networks and household pipe connections in urban villages, old urban areas, and other areas to make up for the "capillaries." Focus on the repair of damaged urban sewage networks, the renewal of old networks, and the transformation of mixed and misconnected networks, and gradually promote the separation of rainwater and sewage. In key basins, water-scarce areas, and water environment sensitive areas, upgrade, expand, and transform existing wastewater treatment facilities in combination with local water resources endowments and water environment protection requirements, and construct wastewater resource utilization facilities as needed. New urban areas in water-scarce cities should plan and layout reclaimed water networks in a timely manner according to local conditions and carry out relevant construction in an orderly manner. Actively promote the construction of facilities for the harmless treatment and resource utilization of sludge.

(8) Implement regional reclaimed water recycling projects. Promote the construction of a comprehensive governance system that organically combines pollution control, ecological protection, and recycling. Construct artificial wetland water purification and other engineering facilities at key nodes such as downstream of key pollutant discharge points, river inlets to lakes (seas), and tributaries into main streams, further purify and improve the treated discharge and slightly polluted river water, and integrate it into the regional water resource allocation management system, which can be used for regional ecological water replenishment, industrial production, and municipal miscellaneous uses. Actively carry out regional reclaimed water recycling pilot demonstrations in water-scarce areas.

(9) Implement industrial wastewater recycling projects. In water-scarce areas, municipal reclaimed water should be used as an important source of industrial water for industrial parks, and the amount of new water intake should be strictly controlled. Promote cooperation between industrial parks and municipal reclaimed water production and operation units, and plan and equip pipeline facilities Create innovative pilot projects for efficient wastewater recycling in severely water-scarce areas with integrated production and city development. Industrial parks with conditions should coordinate the comprehensive treatment and resource utilization of wastewater, establish point-to-point water use systems between enterprises, and achieve industrial wastewater recycling and hierarchical reuse. 。 Focusing on high water-consuming industries such as thermal power, petrochemicals, steel, non-ferrous metals, papermaking, and dyeing and printing, organize the internal use of wastewater in enterprises, and create a number of demonstration enterprises and parks for industrial wastewater recycling, driving improvements in enterprise water use efficiency through typical demonstrations.

(10) Implement agricultural and rural wastewater treatment projects that promote utilization. Gradually build and improve facilities for the collection, treatment, and reuse of agricultural wastewater, and achieve nearby irrigation reuse after treatment. Focusing on large-scale livestock and poultry farms, explore and improve the operation mechanism, carry out resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, promote the integrated development of agriculture and animal husbandry, and achieve a national comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure of over 80% by 2025. In areas with conditions such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and the Pearl River Delta, carry out resource utilization of aquaculture tailwater, focusing on pond aquaculture, carry out treatment of aquaculture tailwater, and achieve recycling and discharge up to standards.

(11) Implement near-zero discharge of wastewater technological innovation pilot projects. Select representative national high-tech industrial development zones (hereinafter referred to as national high-tech zones) to carry out technical integration and demonstration, and research and integrate low-cost, high-performance industrial wastewater treatment technologies and equipment Create a demonstration model with coordinated efforts in wastewater resource utilization technology, engineering and services, management, and policies. In the Yangtze River Delta region, select national high-tech zones such as electronics and information, textile printing and dyeing, and chemical materials to take the lead in demonstration, and by 2025, build several national high-tech zones for industrial wastewater near-zero discharge technological innovation pilot projects.

(12) Comprehensively carry out pilot demonstrations of wastewater resource utilization. Focusing on key difficulties and bottlenecks, carry out pilot demonstrations of reclaimed water utilization, sludge resource utilization, groundwater recharge, and extraction of nitrogen and phosphorus and energy resource recovery according to local conditions. In cities at the prefecture level and above in the Yellow River Basin, build demonstration cities for wastewater resource utilization, plan and construct supporting infrastructure, and achieve large-scale utilization of reclaimed water. Select typical areas to carry out pilot work on reclaimed water utilization allocation. Summarize successful experiences through pilot demonstrations to form replicable and promotable models for wastewater resource utilization. Innovate service models for wastewater resource utilization, and encourage third-party service enterprises to provide overall solutions. Build benchmark water plants for resources and energy, and carry out pilot projects for energy and material recovery from wastewater.

IV. Improve the System and Mechanism for Wastewater Resource Utilization

(13) Improve laws and regulations and standards. Promote the formulation of regulations on water conservation, encourage the utilization of wastewater resources, and achieve water conservation, resource development, and emission reduction. Accelerate the improvement of relevant policies and standards, and include reclaimed water in the urban water supply system. Promote the formulation and revision of local water pollutant discharge standards, and put forward differentiated pollutant discharge requirements and control measures. Urgently formulate technical specifications and control requirements for the use of reclaimed water for ecological water replenishment, and revise other series standards for wastewater resource utilization for different purposes and qualities in a timely manner. Formulate and revise standards related to equipment, engineering, and operation of wastewater resource utilization.

(14) Build a policy system. Formulate implementation plans for regional reclaimed water recycling pilot projects, pilot projects for reclaimed water utilization allocation in typical areas, industrial wastewater recycling, harmless resource utilization of sludge, and technological innovation pilot projects for near-zero discharge of industrial wastewater in national high-tech zones, detailing key tasks and forming a "1+N" policy system for wastewater resource utilization. Study and formulate the "14th Five-Year Plan" for wastewater resource utilization and other relevant plans. Study statistical methods and systems for wastewater resource utilization, and establish a scientific and unified statistical system. Improve the relevant regulations on the assessment of unconventional water source utilization indicators in the total water consumption control indicators, increase the weight of unconventional water sources such as reclaimed water, and implement classified assessment. Improve the water intake permit management system, and compile and implement guiding documents for the supervision and management of river (sea) discharge outlets.

(15) Improve the price mechanism. Establish a user evaluation system, liberalize government pricing of reclaimed water, and allow reclaimed water supply enterprises and users to negotiate prices independently based on the principle of "better quality, better price." For ecological water replenishment of rivers, lakes, and wetlands that provide public ecological and environmental service functions, and for landscape and environmental water use of reclaimed water, encourage the use of government procurement services to promote the resource utilization of wastewater.

(16) Improve financial policies. Increase central government financial investment in wastewater resource utilization. Support local government special bonds for qualified wastewater resource utilization construction projects. Encourage localities to design diversified financial investment guarantee mechanisms. Encourage enterprises to use green bonds, asset securitization, and other means to expand financing channels in a legal and compliant manner. Steadily promote pilot programs for real estate investment trust funds in the infrastructure sector. Explore project revenue rights and franchise rights as collateral for financing and guarantees. Formulate preferential policies.

(17) Strengthen technological support. Promote the inclusion of key technological breakthroughs in wastewater resource utilization into the national medium- and long-term science and technology development plan and the "14th Five-Year Plan" ecological environment technological innovation special plan, and deploy relevant key projects for wastewater resource utilization technological innovation. Establish a strategic alliance for wastewater resource utilization innovation involving research institutions, universities, and wastewater treatment enterprises, focusing on breakthroughs in key technologies and equipment for deep wastewater treatment and sludge resource utilization. Compile advanced and applicable technologies and practical cases for wastewater resource utilization, and promptly promote and publish a national catalog of encouraged industrial water-saving processes, technologies, and equipment.

V. Safeguarding Measures

(18) Strengthen organization and coordination. In accordance with the central government's deployment, provincial-level coordination, and city and county-level responsibility, promote the implementation of the guiding opinions. Consolidate local responsibilities. Governments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) should promptly organize the formulation of relevant plans or implementation plans; city and county governments should assume responsibility for development, formulate plans, clarify tasks, and ensure the smooth completion of the work. The National Development and Reform Commission will strengthen comprehensive coordination. The Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and State Administration for Market Regulation will, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, carry out relevant work, strengthen the coordinated management of water resource conservation and intensive utilization, water pollution control, water ecological protection, wastewater resource utilization, and related environmental infrastructure construction, form a concerted effort, and coordinate the resolution of major related issues.

(19) Strengthen supervision and management 。 Urge relevant parties to strictly implement the dual control system for regional and basin water consumption and intensity, strengthen extension management assessment and water intake management, and ensure the implementation of the "National Water Conservation Action Plan." Strictly supervise the implementation of strict management of self-supplied wells for reclaimed water, and order the closure of self-supplied wells within the scope of approved and public water supply networks in accordance with the law. Establish a sound water quality monitoring system for the entire process of wastewater resource utilization, strengthen the supervision of wastewater treatment and discharge standards, and initially establish a risk prevention and early warning system covering the entire process of wastewater resource utilization to ensure the safe utilization of wastewater resources.

(20) Increase publicity efforts. In conjunction with World Water Day, China Water Week, and National Urban Water Conservation Publicity Week, etc., use various forms to carry out extensive and in-depth publicity work, strengthen science popularization education, and improve public awareness of wastewater resource utilization. Improve public participation mechanisms, give full play to the role of public opinion supervision, social supervision, and industry self-discipline, and create a good atmosphere for the whole society to participate in wastewater resource utilization.