According to Hu and Cheng (2013), policy reform in China is generally considered the weakest driver for the improvement of water quality due to the inaction and bureaucracy in the government. However, the rapid population growth, fast industrialization, and severe damage in water resources has forced China to develop comprehensive policies and measures on pollution control to prevent environmental catastrophes. China is thus moving towards “a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society.” Water pricing significantly reduced chemical fertilizer applications and pollution from non-point sources from agricultural activities. Pollution from industrial activities was attempted to reduce by phasing out production technologies that…show more content… However, lack of coordination between the multiple government systems prevents the effective implementation of regulation and policies applied by central government. In contrast, US water policy is a federal-state system water policy, where states have specific rights and responsibilities. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), enacted in 1948, shaped the history and evolution of US water resources policy the most. FWPCA provided the opportunity for states and municipalities to have funds and loans for the investigation, research and construction of sewage treatment works, which was the only option to prevent drinking water pollution from sanitary wastewater and storm sewers. The 1972 Amendments of FWPCA ensured the physical, chemical and biological restoration of water resources by using the best, uniform and economically available treatment standards for municipal and industrial wastes, and by eliminating pollutant discharge to waters. Currently, FWPCA is known as the Clean Water Act (CWA) with six major amendments, which is focused on the construction grant (local wastewater treatment plants) and the permitting program (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program). In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was established for public water supply systems to regulate drinking water quality (maximum contaminant level goals, MCLGs; wellhead protection areas etc). Recently, sustainable development and ecosystem protection is getting more attention for the ecological management of the watershed, originally covered by the 1965’s Water Resources Planning Act Deason et al.
