Recently, the Huai'an Municipal People's Government promulgated the Huai'an Hydrological Management Measures, a 26-article regulation that systematically addresses the planning and construction of the hydrological station network, hydrological monitoring and forecasting, water-resource investigation and assessment, hydrological data collection and use, hydrological facilities, and environmental protection. The Measures will take effect on October 1 of this year.

Under the Measures, municipal and county (district) governments must incorporate hydrological undertakings into their economic and social development plans and ensure adequate funding; the municipal water administration department is responsible for water-resource protection and hydrological work, as well as guiding the work of municipal hydrological agencies; municipal hydrological agencies shall organize and carry out hydrological management work under the leadership of the provincial water administration department and the municipal government.

The Measures require the preparation of a development plan for the city's hydrological services and a hydrological station network construction plan, with all related construction projects being included in the basic construction plan for water conservancy; for the construction, reconstruction, and expansion of hydrological stations included in the hydrological station network construction plan, local people's governments shall provide corresponding support in accordance with the law. The Measures also mandate that municipal hydrological agencies should strengthen hydrological inspections, investigations, and analysis under special circumstances, promote automatic monitoring and emergency response capabilities, improve the emergency monitoring mechanism for sudden water incidents, and uniformly release hydrological information and forecasts. The Measures further define the scope of hydrological monitoring data collection and promote the sharing of hydrological information among departments, aiming to ensure that the hydrological data used is accurate and effective. Finally, the Measures specify the protection scope for hydrological facilities and prohibit any organization or individual from encroaching on or destroying hydrological facilities.