Named and prospered by its abundant water resources, Huai'an is characterized by numerous rivers and lakes and a dense network of waterways. Approximately 80% of the city's land area lies below the designed flood level, making it particularly vulnerable to water-related disasters throughout its history. The continuous struggle against floods and the effort to improve water conservancy have been integral to Huai'an's development. To date, the city has constructed over 100,000 water conservancy structures of various sizes. Twenty-six irrigation areas have been established, exceeding 10,000 mu each, including 9 large-scale ones of more than 300,000 mu. One hundred and seventeen small and medium-sized reservoirs have been built. Thirty-five large and medium-sized pump stations and over 3,000 small pump stations have been set up.

Over the years, the city's water conservancy department has adhered to the development strategy of "Two Emphases and Two Strengths", which refers to emphasizing construction and supervision and strengthening support and service. Major projects have been continuously advanced, with annual investments of over RMB 3 billion for 13 consecutive years. In 2023, the investment in water conservancy construction surpassed RMB 7 billion for the first time, with the Phase II Project of the Huaihe River Seaward Channel progressing at full speed. The city successfully coped with grim challenges such as regional floods in the Huaihe River basin, the super typhoon "In-fa," and the most severe meteorological drought in 60 years. There have been 17 national and provincial water conservancy scenic areas, 184 "happy rivers and lakes," and 2,990 kilometers of rural ecological river channels in Huai'an. Huai'an's continuous efforts in water conservancy reform and innovation have resulted in the "five-in-one" management system for small water conservancy projects being selected as one of the "40 Local Reform and Innovation Cases in 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up".

Huai'an's water conservancy department will continue to prepare for flood control and drought relief, boost key water conservancy projects, ameliorate the quality and effectiveness of rural water conservancy construction, and solidly stimulate pilot work for supervision system building. These efforts aim to provide robust water conservancy support and guarantee for the economic and social development of Huai'an.