The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently announced the research on the environmental exposure patterns of Chinese people. The results of the study show that 280 million people in China use unsafe drinking water.

280 million, this figure is amazing. People drink water every day. Such a large group of people are faced with huge health threats. This kind of risk is something we cannot afford. This figure reminds us that addressing the issue of drinking water safety is a matter of no delay.

Judging from the experience in the management of food safety, safeguarding public safety requires special legislation, the establishment of a relatively complete legal security system, and the clear definition of the subject and object of the right and responsibility for better management. The drinking water safety is precisely facing problems such as the decentralization of legal content, the lack of generality, and poor operability.

At present, the law most effective in urban water supply is the “Regulations on Urban Water Supply” promulgated in 1994. However, this law has been in force for nearly 20 years and many of the contents have not been adapted to the new drinking water safety situation. What's even more unfavorable is that there is no clear upper law in this regulation. The relevant laws can guide urban water supply management from different angles, but the laws between different levels of effectiveness do not converge well. This has led to the current management of the drinking water industry. The decentralized status of authority has greatly increased management risks.

In order to solve the problems such as the unclear level of the legal system of drinking water safety management and incomplete structure, it is necessary to study and formulate a special drinking water safety law as soon as possible.

Through specific legislation, the first is to establish a supervision system with a clear division of labor and a clear responsibility, based on the responsibility system, and strengthen the accountability mechanism. As long as any company pollutes the drinking water source, even if it makes a big contribution to GDP, it cannot be condoned and must pay its due legal costs. The second is to strengthen the management and protection of water sources and establish a centralized drinking water source regulatory agency to avoid dispersion of powers and cross-cutting powers. Third, the relevant departments are required to publish the results of water quality monitoring on a regular basis and must not conceal from the public the real situation of drinking water safety. Only through special legislation and multi-pronged approaches can we minimize the potential safety hazards of drinking water and allow residents to drink safe water.