Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "Fourteenth Five-Year" Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Utilization Development Plan. The "Plan" clarifies that the construction of recycling facilities will be strengthened and the utilization of sewage resources will be promoted. The newly built, rebuilt and expanded recycled water production capacity shall not be less than 15 million cubic meters per day. It is proposed to solve the difficulties of sludge disposal, realize harmlessness and promote resource utilization. The scale of newly added harmless treatment facilities for sludge shall not be less than 20,000 tons/day. The "Plan" puts forward detailed technical requirements for the construction of sewage treatment and resource utilization facilities.

In order to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's thoughts on ecological civilization, continue to fight pollution prevention and control, and systematically promote the weaknesses in the field of sewage treatment, recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "14th Five-Year" Urban Sewage Processing and Resource Utilization Development Plan (Fagai Huanzi [2021] No. 827) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan").

The "Plan" is clear:

• By 2025, basically eliminate the direct discharge of domestic sewage and the blank areas of collection and treatment facilities in urban built-up areas, and strive to achieve a centralized collection rate of urban domestic sewage of more than 70%;
• The sewage treatment capacity of cities and counties basically meets the needs of economic and social development, and the sewage treatment rate of counties has reached more than 95%;
• Sewage treatment in sensitive areas of the water environment basically meets the Class A discharge standard;
• The utilization rate of reclaimed water in water-scarce cities at prefecture level and above across the country has reached more than 25%, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has reached more than 35%, and cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin with water shortages at prefecture-level and above strive to reach 30%;
• The harmless disposal rate of urban sludge reaches more than 90%.

The "Planning" proposes that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, efforts should be made to promote the construction of urban sewage treatment infrastructure and make up for shortcomings.

1. Make up for shortcomings in the urban sewage pipe network to improve collection efficiency. 80,000 kilometers of sewage collection pipeline network will be newly added and transformed.
2. Strengthen the weaknesses of urban sewage treatment facilities and improve treatment capacity. The new sewage treatment capacity will be 20 million cubic meters per day.
3. Strengthen the construction of recycling facilities and promote the utilization of sewage resources. The newly built, rebuilt and expanded recycled water production capacity shall not be less than 15 million cubic meters per day.
4. Overcome the difficulties of sludge disposal, realize harmlessness and promote resource utilization. The scale of newly added harmless treatment facilities for sludge shall not be less than 20,000 tons/day. The "Plan" puts forward detailed technical requirements for the construction of sewage treatment and resource utilization facilities.

Required by the "Plan", Improve the evaluation and incentive mechanism for sewage collection and treatment, promote professional operation and maintenance, promote the construction of information systems, strengthen the operation and maintenance of facilities, promote the formation of a sustainable operation model, and improve the operation of facilities Maintenance level.

The "Planning" emphasizes, the implementation of target responsibilities, and systematically promote the "14th Five-Year" sewage treatment in accordance with the requirements of provincial deployment and municipal and county responsibility And resource utilization.

1. Broaden investment and financing channels, establish a diversified financial capital investment guarantee mechanism, provide appropriate support for investment within the central budget, and guide social capital to actively participate.
2. Improve the fee price and tax mechanism, reasonably formulate sewage treatment fee standards, liberalize government pricing for recycled water, and implement preferential tax policies. Implement the concept of "water saving is pollution control", and in-depth implementation of national water-saving actions. Strengthen supervision and management, strengthen pipe quality supervision, and strictly control project quality.