More work should be done to remove hazards from reservoirs, reinforce them, and ensure their operation, management and maintenance, according to a circular released by the General Office of the State Council on April 2.

Safety assessments should be conducted in an orderly manner before the end of 2022 for reservoirs whose safety certificates expired in 2020.

Reservoirs with confirmed risks identified before 2020 should, together with those on the fix list after assessment in 2020, should complete reinforcement before the end of 2025, the circular said.

Among large and medium-sized reservoirs, 256 exposed to hazards according to safety assessments should receive active support from the central budget in reinforcement, and the causes for those completed after 2000 should be further investigated.

To facilitate risk removal and reinforcement, safety assessments should be ensured through improved procedures.

The circular called for greater oversight in the survey, design, construction schedule, quality and safety of reinforcement, use of funds, and acceptance upon completion, among other links.

Mechanisms should be in place to downgrade or scrap reservoirs when they are deemed under-functioning, or have decreased scale, and no feasible solution from technical and economic aspects is found.

Meanwhile, ecological protection and restoration should catch up, the circular said.

Daily routines such as inspection, maintenance, safety monitoring, operation, and flood control should be carefully done. Each reservoir’s contingency plan for flood rescue should be revised. Necessary management facilities and emergency materials must be equipped for each reservoir.

Enterprises specializing in reservoir management and maintenance should be encouraged to grow.

Facilities for measuring and reporting rainwater conditions in reservoirs and for monitoring reservoir safety should be built to improve the security monitoring system.

A national unified reservoir management mechanism for filling, auditing and updating management information should be established. Information technologies such as 5G, big data and artificial intelligence should be further promoted.

Governments at provincial level will assume overall responsibility for the reinforcement and operation, management and maintenance of reservoirs under their jurisdiction.

Local and private investment should be encouraged, and effective investment should be expanded.

While ensuring the safety of projects and ecological environment, attempts to introduce social capital to participate in the operation of small reservoirs should be encouraged. Part of the maintenance cost should be covered with those revenues.