The Water Conservancy Work Conference was held in Beijing.

E Jingping pointed out that in 2019, water conservancy departments at all levels earnestly implemented the Party's decision - making and deployment, worked hard, and overcame difficulties, achieving remarkable results in various water conservancy tasks.

On one hand, the work of strengthening weak links in water conservancy projects was accelerated in terms of both quality and speed, giving full play to the role of effective investment in water conservancy construction in driving development. Throughout the year, 726 billion yuan of funds for water conservancy construction were allocated, reaching a historical high. Twenty - three major water conservancy projects were newly started, with progress exceeding expectations. The projects to enhance flood control, drought relief, and water conservancy capabilities were accelerated. The water conservancy poverty alleviation drive was advanced steadily. The construction of rural water conservancy facilities was speeded up. The drinking water safety problem of 1.016 million registered poor people was solved, and the water supply guarantee level of 54.8 million rural residents was consolidated and improved, exceeding the annual target tasks. The comprehensive treatment of groundwater over - exploitation in North China achieved initial results. The groundwater level stopped dropping and started to rise in some areas. The annual task of soil and water loss control was successfully completed. The level of water conservancy informatization was gradually improved, and the national water security guarantee capacity was further enhanced.

On the other hand, strong and effective supervision was carried out in the water conservancy industry, and a practical and effective water conservancy supervision system was basically established. The legal system, institutional mechanisms for supervision were accelerated and improved, and special water conservancy supervision and inspections were carried out. The defense against floods and droughts achieved victory, reducing the losses caused by floods and droughts. The management, conservation, and protection of water resources were strengthened. Continuous efforts were made in river and lake supervision. A total of 134,000 problems of "four disorders" in rivers and lakes across the country were cleaned up and rectified. Remote - sensing supervision of soil and water conservation was vigorously promoted, and 52,000 projects that were constructed or abandoned without approval were investigated and dealt with. The situation of "emphasizing construction over management" in water conservancy projects was gradually reversed. The comprehensive benefits of major national water conservancy projects such as the Three Gorges Project and the South - to - North Water Diversion Project were further exerted. The development capacity of the water conservancy industry was continuously enhanced. Through large - scale special unannounced inspections, a large number of problems were discovered and promoted to be solved, achieving a smooth start and breakthrough in strong supervision of the water conservancy industry.

First, from the perspective of implementing the spirit of the important speech on March 14th, the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development has grasped the main line of adjusting people's behaviors and correcting people's wrong behaviors, which is an inevitable requirement for implementing the "16 - character" water - control concept. We must understand and grasp the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development from the aspects of revolutionary nature, systematicness, and long - term nature, and make a revolutionary transformation in thinking, action, methods, and work styles. We need to update the concept, reshape the business, and reconstruct the process of water conservancy work, persevere, and make long - term efforts.

Second, from the perspective of building a "happy river" that benefits the people, the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development reflects the change in the main contradictions of water control in China, which is an inevitable requirement for implementing the spirit of the symposium on ecological protection and high - quality development in the Yellow River Basin. By practicing the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development, we must implement the overall goal of building a "happy river", the strategic requirement of "focusing on protection and emphasizing governance", and the important principle of "taking water resources as a rigid constraint", so as to promote the high - quality development of the water conservancy cause and better meet the people's aspiration for a better life.

Third, from the perspective of implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development highlights the governance and management of water through systems, which is an inevitable requirement for fundamentally reversing the problems in the water conservancy industry of emphasizing engineering projects over laws, regulations, and systems, and emphasizing construction over management. We must place system construction in a more prominent position, promptly fill the gaps in the system in relevant fields, give play to the important role of strong supervision in promoting reform, and promote the transformation from special supervision to normal supervision.

Fourth, from the perspective of promoting high - quality economic development, the general keynote of water conservancy reform and development is in line with the strategic deployment of the Party and the country, which is an inevitable requirement for implementing the spirit of the economic work conference, the rural work conference, and the work conference on the follow - up projects of the South - to - North Water Diversion Project. We must not only focus on the present and start as many water conservancy projects as possible in a timely manner, but also look to the long - term and plan the overall strategic layout of water conservancy construction.