CHENGDU, Dec. 14 (NBD) -- Chongqing will establish the river chief system by appointing local government heads to clean up and protect water resources across the municipality by end of 2018.

Located in the southwestern China, Chongqing has one of the three largest resources of mineral water in China, and its water resources can generate 7.5 million kilowatts of power. 

With a population of more than 30 million, Chongqing is one of China's four largest cities and is located on the Yangtze River, upstream of the Three Gorges Dam – the world's largest hydro-electric project.

The river chief system were adopted in several regions rich in water resources in Chongqing in recent years and made noticeable progresses, including ecological development of Nanxi river and water cleaning up in Rongchang district.

Responsibilities of the river chiefs include water resource protection, pollution prevention and control, and ecological restoration.

Their job performance will be assessed and they will be held accountable if environmental damage occurs in the water bodies they take charge of.

The Chinese government has released a national plan on environmental improvements for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) earlier this month, which set detailed tasks to cleanse polluted air, water and soil so as to promote ecological civilization and improve its ecological situation.