Regions that fail the 2012 water pollution control examination will have their project approvals suspended for one year, according to a notification released by the Environmental Protection Ministry on Wednesday.

Regions that will be examined include around 20 districts and counties in Hefei and Liu'an city of Anhui province, Kunming of Yunnan province, and Siping of Jilin province, which are responsible for the water quality of Chaohu Lake, Dianchi Lake, and Liaohe River.

The notification said all new construction projects within these regions that generate water pollutants will not be approved until these regions pass the 2013 examination, which will be announced in 2014.

The examination measures 415 water quality monitoring sections in nine water basins, which cover 25 provinces. The overall attainment rate is about 78 percent.

The attainment rate is highest in the Huaihe River drainage area, reaching as high as almost 90 percent, and lowest in the Chaohu Lake drainage area — about 33 percent.

The notification requires local governments to straighten things up as soon as possible and inform the ministry of their plans.

The condition of the water environment remains grim, with limited progress being made in pollution control projects, pollutants being discharged in large amounts and weak management, according to an official from the ministry who declined to be named.