Provisions and Interpretations on Rural Water Supply in the No. 1 Central Document of 2026

1. Provisions related to rural water supply

According to the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Anchoring Agricultural and Rural Modernization and Solidly Promoting Comprehensive Rural Revitalization" (2026), Part 7 "Improving the Normalized Assistance Policy System" and Part 16 "Strengthening the Construction and Management of Rural Infrastructure", the relevant regulations clarify the following three points:

1. Bottom line guarantee requirements

We will implement regular assistance responsibilities and steadily improve the "three guarantees" and drinking water safety guarantee levels as key measures to safeguard the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty.

2. Project construction support

Focus on supporting the construction of small water diversion projects, and improve rural water supply security capabilities in categories according to different regional water resources conditions.

3. Innovation in management and protection mechanisms

Encourage qualified areas to implement unified county management and professional management and protection of rural water supply, and incorporate it into the long-term management and protection system of rural infrastructure for advancement.

2. In-depth interpretation of policies

Policy positioning: anchoring the dual goals of “people’s bottom line + modernization support”

1. The rigid bottom line for preventing return to poverty: The document juxtaposes drinking water safety with the “three guarantees”, highlighting its fundamental position in consolidating the results of poverty alleviation. The national rural tap water penetration rate has reached 96% in 2025, and the target has been raised to 97% in 2026. This 1 percentage point breakthrough is mainly targeted at remote mountainous areas, pastoral areas and other weak areas, and prevents people from falling back into poverty due to drinking water safety issues by accurately remedying shortcomings.

2. Basic support for agricultural and rural modernization: Rural water supply is not only a livelihood project, but also a prerequisite for the development of agricultural production and rural industries. The construction of small-scale water diversion projects not only guarantees farmers' domestic water supply, but also provides stable water sources for irrigation, breeding and other industries, which is in line with the core theme of "anchoring agricultural and rural modernization".

Practical path: "Construction + Management and Protection" two-wheel drive, reflecting classified policy thinking

(1) Project construction: accurately adapted to actual rural scenarios

1. For areas with scattered water resources such as mountainous areas and pastoral areas, focus on supporting small-scale water diversion projects to solve the problem of "insufficient water sources and difficulty in water transportation".

2. Connect with the "3+1" standardization model of the Ministry of Water Resources to form a water supply engineering system with "complementary large, medium and small"

(2) Management and protection mechanism: cracking the pain points of “rebuilding light management”

1. Implement the core logic of "unified management in counties": integrate water supply resources within counties, clarify the responsibilities of government entities, departmental supervision responsibilities and unified management unit operational responsibilities, and avoid low efficiency and high costs caused by decentralized management and protection.

2. Focus on professional management and protection: Covering the entire process of project inspections, repair and maintenance, water quality testing, emergency support, etc., by 2026, the goal is to achieve a unified management ratio of 77% in counties and a large-scale water supply coverage of 73% of the population, promoting the transformation of rural water supply from "is it available" to "is it good or stable". (

3) Policy coordination: multiple guarantee systems escort the implementation

1. Funding guarantee: Maintain a stable scale of normalized assistance funds from the central government, and maintain supporting investment at the provincial and municipal levels. County levels can flexibly adjust the use of funds according to tasks, and support applications for policy funds and local government special bonds.

2. Technical support: Relying on digital empowerment and learning from management platforms such as "Zhejiang Water is Good to Drink", we will promote online monitoring of water quality, water quantity, and water pressure, and improve the level of intelligent management and maintenance; at the same time, we will formulate unified management standards by category, standardize water price formation and water fee collection mechanisms, and ensure the long-term operation of the project.

3. Emergency backup: Incorporate rural water supply emergency support into the government's special plan, reserve emergency supplies, build a strong repair team, respond to extreme weather and other emergencies, and ensure that water supply safety is "uninterrupted". (4) Long-term significance: Promoting urban-rural integration and common prosperity. County unified management and professional management and maintenance of rural water supply is essentially a key step in promoting equalization of urban and rural public services - through unified standards and unified management and maintenance, rural people can drink "safe water" of the same quality as in cities, and narrow the gap between urban and rural people's livelihood. At the same time, stable water supply guarantee can activate the vitality of rural industries, such as specialty planting, rural tourism and other industries, injecting impetus into increasing farmers' income and county economic development, which is in line with the concept of "Ten Million Project" to promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas.

Information source: Water supply, drinking water and water conservation