Urban domestic sewage treatment facilities to make up the weak points of the implementation plan

Q: What is the background of the Implementation Plan?

A: The CPC Central Committee and The State Council attach great importance to the capacity building of urban domestic sewage treatment facilities, especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the National People's Congress has revised the Environmental Protection Law and the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and The State Council has promulgated the Regulations on Urban Drainage and Sewage Treatment and the Action Plan for Water Pollution Prevention and Control. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments have prepared policy documents such as the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of National Urban Sewage Treatment and Recycling Facilities, the Three-year Action Plan for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Urban Sewage Treatment (2019-2021), and the Guiding Opinions on Improving Policies related to the Charging Mechanism for sewage treatment along the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Remarkable achievements have been made in the capacity building of urban domestic sewage treatment facilities, which has played an important role in winning the battle against pollution and improving the quality of urban water environment. According to the statistics of the Department of Housing and urban and rural construction, in 2019, the sewage treatment capacity of cities and counties exceeded 210 million cubic meters per day, and the length of the sewage network reached 570,000 kilometers.

However, there are still many weaknesses in China's urban domestic sewage treatment facilities, and there is still a big gap with the requirements of achieving beautiful China and high-quality development. The shortage of sewage collection pipe network is more prominent, the lack of capillaries, the old damage of pipe network and the widespread misconnection of mixed connection, the rain pollution overflow pollution is more common in southern China, and the sewage collection rate and pollutant reduction efficiency are not high. The capacity of centralized sewage treatment is not balanced, many cities and towns have a large gap, and the potential of sewage resource utilization in water-scarce areas and water-sensitive areas has not been fully tapped. The phenomenon of "heavy water and light mud" is relatively common, the construction of sludge treatment and disposal facilities is lagging behind, and the harmless resource disposal is not standardized, and the level is generally not high. In order to solve the contradiction of unbalanced and inadequate development of urban domestic sewage collection and treatment, make up for the shortcomings and weaknesses of facility construction, win the battle of pollution prevention and control, and accelerate the construction of ecological civilization, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the Implementation Plan.

Q: What is the practical significance of the current work of strengthening the weaknesses of urban domestic sewage treatment facilities?

Answer: First, it is an important part of improving the functions of cities and towns. Cities and towns are important carriers of people's production and life, and domestic sewage treatment facilities are essential infrastructure. With the acceleration of the new urbanization construction process in China, carrying out the weaknesses of urban domestic sewage is an important measure to improve the ability to guarantee basic public services and build a beautiful and livable city. In particular, reflecting on the problems exposed by the epidemic, we are required to speed up the strengthening of weak links, strengthen environmental, health and other infrastructure development, and strengthen urban governance risk prevention and control capacity.

Second, we implemented an important measure to expand domestic demand. Carrying out urban domestic sewage treatment to strengthen the weak points, and building a systematic project covering sewage collection pipe network, sewage treatment plant, sludge treatment and disposal, and sewage resources can not only form current investment, but also attract industrial investment and promote the development of green industries, which is of positive significance for promoting the formation of a strong domestic market, and coordinated promotion of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development.

Third, it can improve the quality of life of urban residents. The improvement of urban infrastructure is closely related to the quality of life of residents. If the infrastructure is not perfect, it will be difficult for residents to live and work in peace and contentment, which will bring adverse effects on social stability and urban development. Promoting urban domestic sewage treatment facilities to make up for the weaknesses and strengths, and promoting the continuous improvement of water environment quality, can meet the growing health needs of the people and the needs of a beautiful ecological environment, and will further enhance the well-being of the people and a sense of security.