The Law on Water Pollution Prevention and Control was promulgated in 1984 and amended in 1996, 2008 and 2017 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on January 1, 2018.

There are 103 articles in total.

The key points are as follows:

1.This Law applies to the prevention and control of pollution of rivers, lakes, canals, irrigation channels, reservoirs and other surface waters and ground waters within the territory of China. The prevention and control of marine pollution shall be governed by the Marine Environmental Protection Law.

2.The state practices the objective responsibility system and the evaluation system for the protection of water environment, and takes the accomplishment of the protection objectives of water environment as a content for evaluating and assessing the local people’s governments and persons in charge of them.

3.Discharge of water pollutants shall be within the state or local standards for the discharge of water pollutants and indicators for the total discharge control of major water pollutants.

4.All enterprises and public institutions and other producers and dealers are prohibited from discharging the waste water and sewage as prescribed in the preceding paragraph to waters without a pollutant discharge license or in violation of the provisions of the pollutant discharge license.

5.he party whose rights and interests are damaged by a water pollution accident is entitled to ask the party discharging pollutants to eliminate the damage and make compensation for their losses.

6.For an action of damage due to a water pollution accident, the party discharging pollutants shall assume the burden of proof for legally prescribed exemptions and the nonexistence of relation of cause and effect between its act and the harmful consequences thereof.