Tap water coverage in rural China to reach 88 pct

BEIJING -- Tap water coverage in China's rural areas will reach 88 percent in 2023, up one percentage point from the end of 2022, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Monday.

Large-scale water supply projects, which aim to integrate urban and rural water supply and standardize water services, are expected to cover 57 percent of China's rural population.

The coverage of the projects stood at 56 percent in rural areas by 2022, data from the ministry showed.

China will enhance water-quality monitoring to ensure water supply safety, and the coverage of purification and disinfection facilities in rural areas will reach 75 percent, said Li Guoying, minister of water resources.

The construction and renovation of 529 large and medium-scale irrigation projects began in 2022, while over 6,200 reservoirs were reinforced in the country, the ministry added.