As the core water source area of the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project, the Danjiangkou Reservoir sends its vast, clear waters northward, nourishing 26 large and medium-sized cities and nearly 120 million people along the route, earning it the title "Northern Water Well."
For years, Shiyan City in Hubei Province has remained mindful of its national responsibility, treating water conservation and protection as a top priority. By embracing systematic governance, digital empowerment, and long-term sustainable management, the city strives to ensure a continuous flow of clean water northward. Monitoring data reveals that in the first half of this year, the water quality of the Danjiangkou Reservoir remained stable at Class II, while all 34 state- and province-controlled water quality sections achieved a 100% Class III or above standard.
Boosting Governance Through Systematic Approaches
Recently, at the Taiji Lakeside along the Jian River in the Wudang Mountain Special Zone, the walking trails were bustling with visitors, while the lake teemed with fish, paired waterfowl, and soaring egrets. The Jian River, also known as Jiudu Stream, is one of the 24 streams of Wudang Mountain, originating from the Golden Summit's Bell Tower and eventually flowing into the Danjiangkou Reservoir.
Spanning 26.5 kilometers, the Jian River flows through 15 administrative villages, serving a basin population of about 60,000. In the past, the river faced issues such as significant natural drop in elevation, incomplete urban rainwater-sewage separation, and poor self-purification capacity. In recent years, the Wudang Mountain Special Zone has invested over 200 million yuan in the systematic treatment of the Jian River basin.
This includes renovating nearly 50 kilometers of primary and secondary sewage pipelines, boosting the sewage collection rate to over 90%. Using a composite filtration process, the daily treatment capacity of the Wudang Mountain sewage treatment plant was increased from 14,000 cubic meters to 20,000 cubic meters, raising effluent quality to surface water Class IV standards. Additionally, methods such as dredging, ecological revetments, initial rainwater collection, Jian River wetland bubbles, and artificial floating islands were employed.
These efforts led to the dredging of 50,000 square meters of riverbed, construction of 24 wetland bubbles, planting of over 10 types of emergent and submerged plants, building 2,680 square meters of ecological floating islands, and releasing more than 300,000 filter-feeding fish. Thanks to this systematic approach, the Jian River has consistently met standards for eight consecutive years since 2018, achieving water quality from Class I to Class III.
Over the years, Shiyan has invested over 30 billion yuan in comprehensive water protection and treatment, promoting source emission reduction, process interception, and end-of-pipe treatment. One-third of the city's land area has been designated as an ecological red line, focusing on controlling deforestation, protecting mountain tops, and safeguarding water sources. Integrated governance covers soil, water, agriculture, forests, ecological environment protection, and urban-rural living environment improvement.
Shiyan has successfully secured central funding for national land greening, beautiful river and lake protection and construction, and the integrated protection and restoration project of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area. This has resulted in the creation of 4.82 million mu of forestland, restoration of 244 abandoned historical mines, and a forest coverage rate of 72.01%.
The city has built 119 urban sewage treatment plants, 2,577 micro- and non-power sewage treatment facilities, and 2,729 kilometers of sewage pipelines. Adapting more than 27 of the world's over 30 common sewage treatment methods to local conditions, Shiyan has achieved a centralized urban sewage collection rate of 91.06%, nearly 20 percentage points higher than the national average.
Enhancing Governance Through Digital Intelligence
Recently, the "81623" water quality intelligent supervision system for the Danjiangkou Reservoir area issued a red alert via satellite remote sensing technology, detecting unknown floating objects on the reservoir surface near a township. The system automatically sent the information to the Danjiangkou sub-center, prompting the local township to organize cleanup, which was completed in less than half a day.
This efficient response exemplifies Shiyan's use of technology for water protection. Given the reservoir's large surface area, long banks, and numerous inlets, the past reliance on a "manpower-heavy" approach—rushing to address problems wherever they arose—was time-consuming and prone to blind spots. To stay ahead of risks, in June 2024, Shiyan was designated a national pilot city for non-site supervision and enforcement of ecological environment protection.
Focusing on the core mission of water protection for the Danjiangkou Reservoir, Shiyan continuously upgrades its intelligent supervision system. Centered on the "18623" water quality security intelligent supervision platform, the city has built a comprehensive, three-dimensional "water, land, air, and space" monitoring framework. This drives a shift in ecological supervision and enforcement from labor-intensive to human-machine interactive, from experience-based to data-driven, and from reactive to proactive warning approaches.
Since the pilot began, Shiyan has integrated monitoring elements for all 2,489 rivers and 525 reservoirs in the reservoir's inflow basin into a unified system. By innovatively constructing a "1+8" city and county-level command system, the city has established six early warning monitoring systems for cross-section water quality, key water-discharging enterprises, mobile pollution sources on ring-reservoir roads, satellite remote sensing, drone patrols, and ring-reservoir shoreline monitoring. Two major platforms for scheduling and supervision have been built, and three professional teams for grassroots patrol, comprehensive law enforcement, and ecological environment justice have been formed, creating a distinctive "18623" intelligent supervision system.
To improve platform efficiency, Shiyan has implemented a five-level linkage chain of "intelligent alert—central dispatch—timely completion—disciplinary supervision—case closure reporting." Four AI agents have been developed and deployed: "Monitoring Data Analyst," "Early Warning Forecaster," "Emergency Dispatcher," and "Ecological Safety Supervisor." Relying on the "far-reaching ears and eyes" of the "81623" water quality intelligent supervision system, Shiyan continuously enhances the modernization of ecological environment governance. Since the start of 2025, the platform has handled 4,141 water-related issue leads and processed 23 administrative penalty cases.
Ensuring Sustainability Through Long-Term Governance
Without the roar of machinery or pungent odors, the scene unfolds with winding paths and sparse flowers, resembling a tranquil garden—a surprising location for a sewage treatment plant. This is the scene at the Chengguan Town Sewage Treatment Plant in Shiyan's Yunyang District. This underground, garden-like facility is a vivid example of Shiyan's "plant-network integration" model for urban domestic sewage treatment.
Protecting water source safety hinges on consistent and long-lasting efforts. In recent years, Shiyan has established a systematic water protection system based on institutional governance, legal reinforcement, and public participation. This shifts water quality protection from phased campaigns to routine adherence and institutionalized assurance.
Shiyan has developed a systematic mechanism for water protection, conservation, and saving, enacting seven local regulations. Together with three neighboring provinces and six cities around the reservoir, it jointly issued the "Decision on Strengthening the Joint Protection of the Water Source Area of the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project." A political supervision office for water source protection was established within the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, and a cross-district appointment system for county-level ecological environment bureau directors was implemented.
The city has pioneered administrative reforms with a "single team managing the reservoir area" and established China's first cross-county and township water quality monitoring and assessment system, further strengthening environmental protection constraints. Exploring the "plant-network integration" reform for sewage treatment, Shiyan implements "pay-by-performance" for sewage treatment, continuously improving the operational efficiency of treatment plants.
Shiyan also promotes the spirit of volunteer service in the new era. Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee members take the lead in water protection, conservation, and saving volunteer activities. The Beijing-Shiyan Environmental Protection Volunteer Alliance has been established and utilized, with the entire region building "civilized rivers." Over 2,000 environmental protection volunteer teams have been formed, with 3.2 million Shiyan residents acting as loyal guardians of the water source.
In March of this year, with Shiyan's active efforts and support from all sectors of society, the overall protection of the Danjiangkou Reservoir area was written into the Ecological Environment Code. This codifies water source conservation and quality assurance as inviolable legal red lines, providing strong legal backing for Shiyan to fulfill its major political mission of ensuring a continuous flow of clean water northward.
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