On July 31st, Prof. Tao Tao and Prof. Xin Kunlun from Department of Municipal Engineering published an article titled as “A Sustainable Plan for China’s Drinking Water” in the newest issue of the journal Nature.

The article gives a comprehensive analysis of the complicate situations facing Chinese drinking water sources and efforts and effects made by the Chinese government to protect safety of drinking water. They analyze from the perspective of sustainable development that drinking water safety protection should not only be focused on upgrading water supply infrastructure, but also on cleaning water sources and recycling water.

The article also points out that China has mandated that tap water in all cities should meet a standard based on 106 indices called for by the World Health Organization. Household water is only part of urban water supply, accounting for one third of total consumption, of which, cooking and drinking use is just over 2%. And national strategic plan for sustainability will be better met through developing advanced water-purification and water-recycle devices.