From August 1st, the first local standard for provincial-level river & lake park – Evaluation Specification for River & Lake Park of Sichuan Province - was officially implemented. Henceforth normative terms and construction standards, evaluation contents and evaluation methods, evaluation and supervision systems for river & lake park in Sichuan have been established. The reporter recently learned from the Sichuan Rural Water Bureau.
 
　　The Specification defines the construction standards for river & lake park, which specifies that the planned area of the river & lake park with natural resources as the core shall not be less than 10 km2, and the water area shall be no less than 1 km2 at the normal water level. Meanwhile, if the water body on which it relies falls into the category of drinking water or backup water, then its water quality shall not be lower than Class III. The Specification also clarified that the evaluation and supervision system for river & lake park shall be consisted of river & lake resources, environmental quality, utilization conditions and operational management. 

　　River & lake park, which refers to the rivers, lakes and their coastal mountain forests, farmlands, and urban (village and town) waterfronts delineated and managed by the government, and aims at protectively utilizing the natural and human resources of these rivers and lakes and along their coastal areas, is a specific area that provides functions including environmental protection, science education, and recreation. Since last year, Sichuan Province has selected 8 water conservancy scenic spots with good ecological environment and excellent water quality, such as the Qionghai Lake-Anning River of Liangshan Prefecture and the Qingzhu River in Qingchuan County of Guangyuan City, to launch pilot construction projects of river & lake parks.