China’s Jiangxi province announces plan to eliminate “black, smelly” water bodies from its urban areas

On June 20, 2022, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Jiangxi Province, China, announced a plan to address the issue of “black and smelly” water bodies in its cities. A national document defines a “black and smelly water body” as a water body in a city’s urban area that has an unpleasant color and/or smell. The plan aims to eliminate black and smelly water from most of the water bodies in the province’s urban built-up areas by 2025 among other targets. To this end, the province will step up measures against pollution from industrial companies, including compliance with effluent standards, as well as other means to achieve clean water.