To implement the requirements of the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Doing a Good Job in the Construction of Urban Drainage and Waterlogging Prevention Facilities, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently issued the Outline for the Preparation of Comprehensive Urban Drainage (Rainwater) and Waterlogging Prevention Plans (hereinafter referred to as the Outline). It requires all cities to promptly prepare their local comprehensive urban drainage (rainwater) and waterlogging prevention plans in accordance with local conditions and with reference to the requirements of the Outline, and also requires the competent housing and urban-rural development departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government to keep abreast of the progress of plan preparation.

The Outline requires that the preparation of a comprehensive urban drainage (rainwater) and waterlogging prevention plan should include the planning background and current situation overview, assessment of urban drainage and waterlogging prevention capacity and waterlogging risk, general planning introduction, urban rainwater runoff control and resource utilization, urban drainage (rainwater) pipe network system planning, urban waterlogging prevention system planning, near-term construction planning, management planning, and safeguard measures. The housing and urban-rural development departments of all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) shall, before June 30, 2014, compile and summarize the near- and long-term construction tasks planned by each city within their jurisdiction and submit the comprehensive urban drainage (rainwater) and waterlogging prevention plans of all cities together to the Department of Urban Construction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.