A volunteer removes weeds from a tributary of the Yangtze River in Yichang, Hubei province, August 2013. The province is strengthening efforts to fight water pollution, which experts say now poses a major challenge. Zhang Guorong / For China Daily

Hubei approves regulation on measures for treatment and prevention

Hubei province, a key water source for northern regions and a center for grain farming, is increasing measures to fight water pollution.

The provincial legislature has approved a regulation on preventing and treating water pollution, and it will take effect in July, said Zhou Hongyu, its deputy chairman and a national lawmaker.

The new regulation includes punishment for polluting enterprises and a strict accountability system for officials, Zhou said.

Companies that cause pollution will be subject to daily fines until they take measures to address the problem.

Liu Yaming, director of the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources, said it is important to have laws and regulations on water protection.

"The whole country considers water protection as crucially important, and Hubei province is leading the way in managing and protecting water resources with the introduction of the new regulation on water pollution," Liu said.

Protection of water resources will be made an important standard for evaluating local officials' performance to prevent any obsession with economic growth at the expense of combating water pollution, she said.

Hubei, the "Province of a Thousand Lakes", is abundant in water resources and sits on more than 1,000 km of the Yangtze River.

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