Hebei pledges huge investment to improve water quality

Hebei will invest around 240 billion yuan ($37 billion) to improve its water quality by 2030, according to the province's environmental protection authority.

Yang Zhiming, deputy director of Hebei Environmental Protection Bureau, said the money will be used to control domestic sewage, limit industrial and agricultural water pollution and protect the province's lakes and rivers.

"Hebei is one of the provinces with the most serious water pollution problems and a shortage of water resources," Yang said, adding that it's urgent to implement a whole package of measures to improve the situation.

Based on a national plan announced by the State Council last April, Hebei released a specific province-level plan in February on how to prevent and control water pollution.

Measures to be implemented include forcing highly polluting factories to transform or close, and upgrading sewage treatment facilities.

By 2030, 55 percent of river water will be of a good quality and all black or odorous water will have been eliminated, according to the plan.

The province also aims to balance out the exploitation and supplementation of underground water aquifers within the next five years and greatly reduce the amount of water used for industry and agriculture.

As for drinking water, Hebei will implement a whole-process monitor system to ensure it is clean and healthy from source to outlet.