The plan has been issued by the Ministry of the Environmental Protection and three other ministries. The measures look to make significant progress in improving China's water quality by 2015, at the end of China's 12th Five-Year period.

Based on the plan, the quality of water in key rivers and lakes will be improved from a "severe" level of pollution to a "mild" level. That will be a significant step given the current condition of water in the country.

Zhao Hualin, official in Ministry of Environmental Protection, said, "By 2015, the plan is to have 60% of the water in key rivers and lakes able to be used as drinking water. This will not be an easy goal to reach, but it’s very important for Chinese society."

Based on the plan, key rivers and lakes are being divided into 315 units across 23 provinces and regions in the country. Most factories in these water catchment areas will be forced to upgrade to meet the strict environmental protection standards. This includes some heavily-polluting industries such as papermills, coal mines, textile makers and chemical plants.

Zhao Hualin said, "This is the first time that we divided the waters into 315 controlling units. Each unit is divided according to the local environment and economic status. So we can treat each unit differently and in a more effective way."