The main responsibilities of Ministry of Water Resources include:
●Responsible for the ministry's routine work, including information, safety, security, handing public complaints and proposals, e-government, publicity and public communication.
●Drafting strategic water plans, organizing the formulation of major comprehensive plans, specialized plans and dedicated plans for water sector, reviewing proposals, feasibility study reports and preliminary designs of major water projects, organizing and guiding the assessment work on flood prevention, guiding the compliance review for water projects construction, organizing the execution of investment plan of the central government and undertaking the water statistical work.
●Drafting water laws, regulations and sectoral rules, studying and formulating water policies and supervising their execution, guiding, supervising and checking the administrative licensing of water projects, handling the work on administrative response, reconsideration and compensation on behalf of the Ministry, organizing and guiding water administrative supervision and law enforcement, coordinating solutions of water disputes among provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and organizing investigation and disposal of major law-violating water-related events.
●Formulating and executing the ministry's budgets, undertaking financial and asset management, making suggestions on the allocation of central water budgets, coordinating project supervision, management and evaluation, and making proposals on water prices, taxes, fees, funds and credit.
●Responsible for personnel administration, institutional setup and salary management for the ministry and its directly-affiliated institutions. Guiding the personnel education and training, and undertaking sectoral institutional reform.
●Implementing strictest water resources management system, water abstraction permit system and water resources assessment system. Guiding the work on payment-based water use, water allocation and supervision of its implementation. Guiding the management of ecological flow of rivers and lakes. Organizing the formulation of water resources protection plans, guiding the work on drinking water source protection, organizing the work on water resources surveys and evaluations, compilation and release of national bulletins on water resources, and participating in the formulation of water function zoning plan and guiding the location and management of wastewater discharge outlets into rivers.
●Drafting water conservation policies, organizing the work on compilation and execution of water conservation plan, organizing and guiding planned water consumption and water conservation work, organizing the work on implementing the systems for total water consumption control, water use efficiency control, planned water consumption and water norm management, guiding and promoting water-saving society development, and guiding the development and utilization of non-conventional water sources, including recycling of urban wastewater.
●Guiding the management of water project construction, establishing relevant systems and organizing their implementation. Organizing and guiding water storage safety appraisal and acceptance of water projects, guiding risk removal and reinforcement of main levees of major rivers, reservoirs and sluices with hazards. Guiding supervision and management of water project construction market and development of market credit system.
●Guiding management, protection and integrated utilization of water facilities, organizing the formulation of reservoir operation and regulation rules, and guiding the operation, management and demarcation of water projects such as reservoirs, hydropower dams, embankments and sluices.
●Guiding management and protection of water areas and the shorelines, and development, training and protection of major rivers, lakes and estuaries. Guiding water ecological conservation and restoration of rivers and lakes and connectivity of rivers and lakes, supervising and managing sand excavation in river course, guiding formulation of plans for sand excavation in river course, and organizing implementation of the review system for project construction in areas subject to watercourse administration.
●Undertaking integrated prevention and control of soil erosion and water loss, organizing formulation and implementation of soil and water conservation plans, organizing the monitoring, forecasting and public disclosure of soil erosion and water loss, reviewing soil and water conservation plans for large and medium-sized development projects and supervising their execution.
●Organizing construction and upgrading of large and medium-sized irrigation and drainage projects, guiding construction and management of rural safe drinking water projects, and water-saving irrigation, formulating rural hydropower development plans, guiding rural hydropower development projects including hydropower-based electrification, upgrading of hydropower stations and small hydropower replacing firewood project, guiding the establishment of rural water service provider system, and coordinating water management in pasturing areas.
●Undertaking water project resettlement management and follow-up support, organizing implementation of the system for acceptance, supervision and evaluation of the resettlement. Reviewing resettlement plans for large and medium-sized water projects, organizing the approval of population to be supported after the resettlement, and coordinating and promoting the partnership assistance program.
●Supervising the implementation of major water policies, decisions, deployment and tasks, organizing quality and safety supervision for water projects, and guiding the work on production safety in water sector and supervision for safety of reservoirs, hydropower dams and rural hydropower stations.
●Organizing the formulation and implementation of flood/drought disaster prevention and management plans and standards, and dispatching plans in response to flood/drought disasters and emergency water supply for major rivers, lakes and water projects. Undertaking flood/drought monitoring and early warning, coordinating and guiding the work on safety construction, management and compensation for flood detention basins, and undertaking impact evaluation of flood plains, flood detention basins and protection areas.
●Guiding national hydrological work, hydrological and water resources (including water level, discharge and water quality, etc.) monitoring, construction and management of national hydrological stations and networks, organizing the monitoring of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater, and releasing information on water resources and hydrological forecasting.
●Making policy recommendations on the operation of the Three Gorges Project, organizing and guiding the formulation and execution of operation and dispatching rules for the Three Gorges Project, guiding the safe operation of the Three Gorges Project, organizing the project acceptance-related work, and undertaking implementation, coordination and supervision of the follow-up work plans.
●Coordinating the implementation of major policies and measures for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, organizing the work on financial settlement, auditing, and acceptance of projects upon completion, formulating and implementing annual water supply plan for south-to-north water diversion, guiding and supervising the operation and management of the project, undertaking early-stage preparation, construction and management of the follow-up projects, and guiding the construction of local counterpart schemes.
●Responsible for the work on analyzing trans-regional and trans-basin water supply and demand situation, guiding water resources dispatching and supervising its implementation, organizing and guiding the early-stage preparation work for large water diversion projects, and guiding and supervising the operation and management of trans-regional, trans-basin water diversion projects.
●Undertaking foreign affairs work related to trans-boundary rivers. Undertaking international cooperation activities and foreign affairs management. Formulating technical norms and standards for water sector, and supervising their implementation. Organizing major scientific research, technology introduction and science and technology extension.
●Responsible for Party-related work for the ministry and the directly-affiliated organizations in Beijing.
●Responsible for the affairs related to the retired personnel.