Master Chen is not only the Chief Engineer of the Water Resources Bureau but also a member of its Party Committee. After inspecting the riverbank, he immediately reported back to Director Yang upon returning to Linghai.

Secretary Ye and Mayor Qian pay great attention to the rampant sand mining in the Linghai section of the Yangtze River. Surprisingly, they had the Finance Bureau allocate 50,000 yuan to Xu Sanye's apprentice, funds originally designated for the Water Resources Bureau, and with the flood season approaching in two months, involving the Yangtze River levee, the Water Resources Bureau must pay more attention.

After hearing the report, Director Yang thought that Xu Sanye's apprentice had a good idea and immediately went with Master Chen to Binjiang City Water Resources Bureau.

Vice Director Liao of the City Water Resources Bureau, in charge of Water Administration, quickly understood their purpose and immediately called the heads of the Legal Affairs Department and the Water Resources Supervision Team, who were preparing to leave work, and told them to hurry to the small meeting room on the fourth floor for a meeting.

As they were all part of the water system and well-acquainted with each other, there was no need for introductions or formalities.

Considering it was after work hours and everyone wanted to go home for dinner, Director Liao asked Master Chen to brief the situation.

Captain Huang, after listening to the situation, rested his chin on his hand and asked, "Master Chen, unregulated and excessive sand mining can possibly lead to riverbank collapse, but we're talking about the Yangtze River, which is managed by the Water Resources Commission. Does our local water resources department have jurisdiction over illegal sand mining on the river?"

"Yes, I have brought the relevant documents."

Master Chen opened his briefcase and took out two pieces of legislation.

Director Teng of the Binjiang Water Resources Bureau's Legal Affairs Department is a well-known legal expert in Binjiang Water System. Captain Huang had just received the documents when Director Teng said, "According to the 'River Management Regulations of the People's Republic of China', enacted in 1988, the management of rivers like the Yangtze and the Yellow river requires both unified and tiered management. Theoretically, local governments at the county level and above have the right to manage."

Vice Director Liao asked, "And what about in practice?"

"Director Liao, you know the situation. In theory, any river with a levee, the waters between both banks, sandbars, beaches, flood discharge areas, and embankment lands fall under our water system's management. However, in reality, the superior authorities only think about us in the water resources department when flood prevention issues arise."

Undoubtedly, this was an awkward topic.

Though river and agricultural water conservancy fall under the management of the Water Resources Bureau, with economic development at the center of everything today, there's not much the water administration enforcement departments can actually oversee.

Take a common example: when the Ministry of Transport constructs a road that encounters a river, regulations require them to consult with the water resources department before building a bridge. There are standards for how high the bridge should be, but will they actually consult with you? Even being notified is considered a courtesy.

Especially when constructing rural roads, local governments, in efforts to cut costs, would rather not build a bridge at all, opting instead to take earth from the river to build a causeway, effectively severing the river's flow.

Then when internal flooding occurs, the rapidly rising river water, unable to drain due to the blocked waterways, causes the superiors to suddenly remember the water resources department, and they may even ask why you didn't stop it at the time.

Many township markets are located by riversides and nearby residents wish to construct buildings at the market. Lacking sufficient housing land, they exploit the river. The more diligent ones drive piles into the river's bed to construct stilt houses on the water, becoming literal river-dwelling households.

The less scrupulous directly fill in the river for construction purposes.

With the village's approval and potential payments to the township government, our enforcement of the law is ignored if we go and tell them it's illegal.

The documents also stipulate that rivers should not be blocked by nets, nor should fixed nets be placed, as they interfere with drainage and flood conveyance.

Yet, in reality, apart from a few major navigable rivers in Binjiang, almost all other waterways are contracted out by villages or townships for fish farming, and it's nearly impossible to find a river without nets.

Many nets are placed near sluice gates designated for drainage, which are unattended on regular days and those guarding the fish nets may even live inside the drainage facilities at the sluice gate.

As for illegal well drilling, it's a joke; in the countryside, every household has a well. If you ever go out to enforce that law naively, you'll get a severe scolding from the locals.

In short, Water Administration has a wide range of jurisdiction but very little actual control.

The Water Resources Supervision Enforcement Team of the City Water Resources Bureau was established at the end of the previous year, consisting of only four members in charge of supervising water administration enforcement and investigating water-related cases in all of Binjiang.

However, since its establishment, they have seldom conducted supervision or investigated water-related cases.

The three cases investigated last year were discovered by city leaders during flood prevention inspections, who then tasked the Water Resources Supervision Enforcement Team with investigating.

With few personnel, no budget, little attention from superiors, and no support from related departments, their work has always been passive.

At the end of last year, they struggled with summarizing their work achievements and had no choice but to ask a very eloquent "Scholar" from Dongqi Water Resources Bureau for help.

As expected, the "Scholar" lived up to their reputation and impressively summarized their work in eight words: Enforce one case, educate a neighborhood!

Thinking of these, Captain Huang gave a bitter smile and asked, "Master Chen, we face various obstacles in enforcing laws on inland rivers. If you ask us to enforce laws on the river, isn't that sending us out to get beaten? The Fishery Administration has tried to enforce laws on the river. As far as I know, everyone who tried to catch eel fry on the river got beaten."

Director Teng agreed strongly, looking up and saying, "We lack personnel, boats, and funds—how are we supposed to enforce laws on the river?"

Comrade Old Huang did not want to wade into muddy waters and murmured, "I know those involved with sand mining; none of them are easy to deal with. If you get in the way of their profits, they'll dare to fight for it!"

Deputy Director Liao felt embarrassed by his subordinates' apprehension.

It's a tradition in Binjiang that the work done by the city doesn't see as much enthusiasm from the districts and counties below, and the work performed by the city is not as good as that in the districts and counties.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.