China will appoint local government heads as river chiefs across the nation to clean up and protect its water resources, said a document published by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council last Sunday.
根据中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅上周日印发的文件，我国将任命地方政府领导担任全国各地的河长，以清理和保护水资源。
The central government expects to turn such practice into a nationwide mechanism by the end of 2018, said the document.
该文件称，中央政府预计在2018年底将把这一举措变为一全国性的机制。
China firstly appointed local government officials as river chiefs in 2007 to address pollution woes of a blue algae outbreak in Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province.
2007年，中国第一次将地方政府官员任命为河长，以解决江苏省太湖暴发的蓝藻污染问题。

The practice was later adopted in several regions rich in water resources to ensure strong enforcement of environmental policies.
这一做法后来被一些水资源丰富的地区所采用，以确保环境政策的强有力执行。
Government officials will be hired as river chiefs at provincial, city, county and township levels, and heads of provincial regions will be general chiefs responsible for all rivers and lakes in the region, according to the document.
根据文件，政府领导将担任省、市、县、乡级别的河长，省级区域的领导将任总河长，负责区域内所有河湖。
Responsibilities will 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 waters they take charge of, the document said.
文件称，河长的职责包括水资源保护、水污染防治和修复水生态等。河长的工作表现将接受考核，负责的水体出现环境损害的，将被问责。
The central government expects to turn such practice into a nationwide mechanism by the end of 2018, the document said.
根据文件，中央政府希望河长制在2018年年底前成为全国推行的制度。