North China's Shanxi province will continue to improve the safety and quality of its rural drinking water in the current year, according to a statement from the Shanxi Provincial Department of Water Resources on April 20. 

The statement said that Shanxi will focus on constructing new rural water supplies, consolidate existing achievements made in providing rural drinking water, as well as strengthen the operation and management of rural water supply projects to improve drinking safety. 

The province will also implement an internet-based monitoring project for rural water supply engineering. 

It will do so by installing village-level smart water meters and establishing a networked monitoring platform. Plans are also for it to promote money-saving and effective new technologies and products and coordinate remote operations of village water supply projects, with those of all administrative villages included in the monitoring program, by the end of 2021. 

In addition, daily maintenance of existing rural drinking water supply projects will be carried out. Shanxi will also conduct regular monitoring and investigation of hidden dangers of rural drinking water supplies in mountainous areas with poor natural conditions and scattered residences. It will also target supplies vulnerable to drought, floods, geological disasters and freezing, to ensure that there are no continuous water cuts in any village. 

Moving forwards, the province will strengthen the protection of its water supplies in rural areas.

It also plans to boost rural water supply quality tests and speed up the establishment of rural water supply plants.