The newly released water pollution prevention and control action plan will put tough controls on polluting industries with emission limits and provide stricter supervision from authorities and the public.

A series of detailed regulations will need to be subsequently released to make the guidelines operable, an expert suggested.

Emission of water pollutants will continue to grow, but more slowly, and the tipping point for the overall improvement of water quality has not yet been achieved, said Chen Ming, deputy head of the Water Resources Bureau under the Ministry of Water Resources.