Flood Control Regulation of the People’s Republic of China

Promulgation date: / 07-15-2005
Effective date: / 07-15-2005
Department: / STATE COUNCIL OF CHINA
Subject: / OTHER PROVISIONS
Flood Control Regulation of the People’s Republic of China
(Promulgated by Order No.86 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on July 2nd, 1991, revised according to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Flood Control Regulation of the People’s Republic of China made on July 15, 2005)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 The present Regulation is formulated in accordance with the Water Law of the People’s Republic of China for the purpose of doing well the work of flood control and flood fighting, and ensuring the safety of the people’s life and property and the smooth carrying out of economic construction.
Article 2 The present Regulation shall be applicable to the carrying out of flood control and flood fighting activities within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 3 The guideline of “Safety first, being always on alert, prevention first, and rescuing emergency with all one’s strength” shall be applied to flood control work, and the principle of solidarity in collaboration, and subjecting partial interests to the overall interests shall be followed.
Article 4 Flood control shall be carried out under the system whereby the administrative chief of the people’s government at any level assumes full responsibility and gives unified command with the departments at various levels assuming their respective responsibilities. All the relevant departments shall adopt the post responsibility system for flood control.
Article 5 Any entity or individual shall have the obligation to take part in flood control and flood fighting.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the Armed Police Force shall be an important power for flood control and flood fighting.
Chapter II Flood Control Organizations
Article 6 The State Council shall set up the National Flood Control Headquarters, which shall be responsible for organizing and guiding the work for flood control and flood fighting throughout the country, and the office of the National Flood Control Headquarters shall be set up at the administrative department of water under the State Council.
For Changjiang River and Yellow River, a flood control commanding institution consisting of the persons-in-charge of the people’s governments of the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the river basin management institution (hereinafter referred to as the river basin institution) of the rivers may be set up, and shall be responsible for guiding the work of flood control and flood fighting within their respective jurisdictions, with the office thereof established at the river basin institution. The major flood control and flood fighting matters in ChangjiangRiver and Yellow River shall be implemented upon the approval of the National Flood Control Headquarters.
The Huaihe, Haihe, Pearl River, SonghuaRiver, LiaoheRiver, Taihu and other river basin institutions subordinated to the administrative department of water under the State Council shall set up a flood control office to be responsible for coordinating the routine work of flood control of their own river basins.
Article 7 The local people’s governments at or above the county level that has flood control task shall establish a flood control headquarters, consisting of the persons-in-charge of the relevant departments, local garrisons, and the departments of people’s armed forces, and the administrative chief of the people’s governments at all levels shall act as the commander. The flood control headquarters of the people’s governments at all levels shall, under the leadership of the flood control headquarters of the upper level people’s government and the people’s governments of the corresponding level, execute the flood control instructions of the upper level government, formulate various flood control and flood fighting measures, and command uniformly the flood control and flood fighting work of their own regions.
The office of the flood control headquarters of the people’s governments at all levels shall be established at the competent administrative department of water at the corresponding level; the office of flood control headquarters within the urban district of a city may also be set up at the competent department of city construction, and shall be responsible for administering the routine flood control work within its jurisdiction.
Article 8 The departments and entities of oil, electric power, posts and telecommunications, railway, highway, shipping, factory, mining and commerce as well as materials, etc. that have flood control tasks shall establish a flood control institution in flood season, and shall, under the unified leadership of the competent flood control headquarters of the people’s governments, be responsible for doing well the flood control work of the industrial sector and entity concerned.
Article 9 The riverway management institution, the water conservancy & hydropower project management entities and the riparian construction entities for the project under construction shall strengthen management and maintenance of the water engineering facilities under their jurisdictions, ensure their safe and normal operation, and organize and take part in the flood control and flood fighting work.
Article 10 The local people’s governments that have flood control tasks shall organize mass flood control troops with the people’s militia as the backbone, and shall instruct the relevant departments to register the members of the flood control troops, so as to clarify their respective tasks and responsibilities.
The riverway management institution and other flood control project management entity may, in combination with the routine management tasks, organize the flood control and emergency rescue troops of their own entity to act as the backbone of emergency rescues.
Chapter III Getting Prepared for Flood Control
Article 11 The people’s governments at or above the county level that have flood control tasks shall, according to the comprehensive plan for the river basins, the actual status of the flood control projects and the flood control standards as prescribed by the state, formulate their own flood control schemes (including the measures for disposal of devastating flood).
The flood control schemes of the Changjiang River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, and Haihe River shall be formulated by the National Flood Control Headquarters and shall be implemented after being approved by the State Council; the flood control scheme of other rivers that cross two or more provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, after being formulated by the people’s governments at the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and upon the examination and approval of the competent river basin institution, be implemented, after obtaining the approval of the State Council or its authorized institutions, by the people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
The people’s government of any city that has flood control and flood fighting tasks shall, according to the comprehensive plan of the river basin and the flood control and flood fighting scheme of rivers, formulate the flood control scheme of its own city and implement it after being approved by the upper level people’s government or its authorized institution.
After a flood control scheme is approved, the relevant local people’s governments shall carry it out.
Article 12 A place that has flood control tasks shall formulate its floodwater dispatching scheme according to the approved flood control scheme. The floodwater dispatching schemes in Changjiang River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe River (Yongding River, Daqing River, Zhangwei South Canal, and Beisan River in the Haihe River Basin), Songhua River, Liaohe River, Pearl River and Taihu river basins shall be formulated by the relevant river basin institutions together with the people’s governments at the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and reported to the National Flood Control Headquarters for approval. The floodwater dispatching scheme of other rivers that cross two or more provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be formulated by the relevant river basin institutions together with the people’s governments of the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and reported to the flood control commanding institutions of the river basins. If there is no flood control commanding institutions in a river basin, it shall be reported to the National Flood Control Headquarters for approval. The floodwater dispatching schemes of other rivers shall be formulated by the competent administrative department of water that has jurisdiction together with the relevant local people’s governments and reported to the flood control commanding institution that has jurisdictions for approval.
After a floodwater dispatching scheme is approved, the relevant local people’s government shall carry it out. The amendment on the floodwater dispatching scheme shall be reported to the former approval organ for approval.
Article 13 Any enterprise that has flood control and flood fighting tasks shall, according to the approved flood control scheme and floodwater dispatching scheme at the river basin or region where it is located, prescribe the flood control and flood fighting measures of its own enterprise, and implement it under the supervision of the flood control commanding institution that has jurisdiction after getting the approval of the competent administrative department of water of the people’s government at the level of the county at its locality.
Article 14 The administrative departments of such projects as reservoir, hydropower station and barrage, etc. shall, according to the project plan and design, the approved flood control scheme and floodwater dispatching scheme as well as the actual conditions of a project, and under the precondition of subjecting flood control to the construction of water conservancy and ensuring security, formulate a dispatching and application plan in the flood season, and shall, after having the plan examined and approved by the competent upper level department, report it to the competent flood control headquarters of the people’s government for archival filing and shall accept its supervision.
For any hydropower station that concerns greatly to flood control and flood fighting as determined by the National Flood Control Headquarters, its dispatching and application plan for flood control storage capacity in the flood season shall, after being examined and approved by the competent upper level department, be subject to the approval of the flood control headquarters of the people’s government that has jurisdiction.
After a dispatching and application plan for the flood season is approved, the administrative department of such projects as reservoir, hydropower station, and barrage, etc. shall be responsible for its implementation.
For any river that has ice run control tasks, the amount of water discharge of the reservoir in its upper reaches during the ice run period shall be subject to the approval of the competent flood control headquarters of the people’s government and shall accept its supervision.
Article 15 The flood control headquarters at all levels shall organize an inspection on the various flood control facilities before a flood, and shall instruct the entity liable to handle it within a prescribed time limit after discovering anything that may affect the safety of flood control, and shall not bungle the work for flood control and flood fighting.
All the relevant departments and entities shall, according to the unified deployment of the flood control headquarters, report the things that may affect the safety of flood control and the handling measures thereof to the flood control headquarters and the competent upper level departments after making an inspection on the flood control projects and facilities under their jurisdiction before a flood comes, and shall make treatments according to the requirements of the flood control headquarters.
Article 16 The Riverway Administration Regulation of the People’s Republic of China shall be followed for the riverway barrier clearance and the rebuilding or dismantling of such projects and facilities as bridges, channels, wharfs, etc. in which water is seriously jammed or blocked up and other trans-river projects and facilities.
Article 17 The people’s government at the level of the province where the place of flood storage and detention area is located shall, according to the relevant provisions of the State Council, organize the relevant departments and cities and counties to formulate the plan for the safety and construction of flood storage and detention area under its jurisdiction, and carry it into effect.
The local people’s governments at all levels shall make an inspection before a flood comes on such safety facilities as the communications, broadcast and early warning, flood-refuge and the retreating road of the flood storage and detention area under their jurisdictions, and getting prepared for emergency withdrawal and lifesaving, and handle them in time in case anything that may affect the security is discovered.
Article 18 The relevant departments at the locality where mountain torrents and mud-rock flow are likely to occur shall appoint prevention watcher to keep watch all the time. Before the coming of the rain season, the flood control headquarters of the local people’s government shall organize the relevant entities to make safety inspections, and shall remove the masses from the dangerous zones in a timely manner if discovering any area that has obvious sign of danger.
The relevant departments in the region where a storm tide is likely to occur shall strengthen safety inspections on the reservoirs, sea walls, brakes and dams, high voltage electrical wires and other facilities and houses, and shall handle it in time in case anything that may affect the security is discovered.
Article 19 Any water affairs dispute occurred in respect of flood control and flood fighting between different regions shall be handled by their common upper level people’s government at the place where the dispute is occurred or its authorized department in charge.
The preceding people’s government or department shall, when handling any water affairs dispute in respect of flood control and flood fighting, have the right to take temporary emergency disposing measures, and the relevant parties concerned shall obey and implement them.
Article 20 The local people’s governments that have flood control tasks shall establish and perfect dikes of rivers, reservoirs, and flood storage and detention area and other flood control facilities, as well as the system of communications and broadcast and early warning for flood control of this area.
Article 21 The flood control headquarters at all levels shall store a certain amount of materials for flood control and emergency rescue, and may pay proper storage fees for them if such materials are stored by the departments of commerce, supply and marketing, and materials under entrustment. The entities and the masses imperiled by floodwater shall store a certain amount of materials for flood control and emergency rescue.
The main materials as needed for flood control and emergency rescue shall be prepared by the competent department of planning in the annual plan.
Article 22 The flood control headquarters of the people’s governments at all levels shall introduce flood control schemes to the relevant entities and the local garrison before a flood, and organize to exchange experiences for flood control and emergency rescue. The relevant parties concerned shall circulate a report on the water conditions in the flood season.
Chapter IV Flood Control and Emergency Rescue
Article 23 The flood control headquarters of the people’s governments at the provincial level may, according to the regularity of local flood, prescribe the date of commencing and ending of the flood season. In case the water conditions in any river, lake or reservoir is close to the limited water level or safety flow capacity, or there occurs serious dangerous conditions in any flood control project or facility, and the circumstance is urgent, the local people’s government at or above the county level may declare the entry of an urgent flood control period and report it to the flood control headquarters of the upper level people’s government.
Article 24 Within the flood control period, the persons in charge of flood control headquarters at all levels shall preside over the work. The relevant persons in charge shall stick to his/her post, and keep informed of the flood conditions in time, and make dispatchments according to the flood control scheme and dispatching and application plan for the flood season.