Water is the source of life that humans rely on for survival and development. Water conservation and protection are enduring issues related to sustainable development. Looking across the land of China, water conservation has become a trend. Recently, the "World Water Day" and "China Water Week" series of activities were held in 2026. Reporters visited and saw that thanks to technological innovation, industrial development, and mechanism innovation, water-saving undertakings in various parts of China have been advancing in depth, accumulating strength to promote high-quality development of water conservancy and ensure national water security. Technological innovation empowers the pre-treatment process technology of green phosphorus free film and dry spray painting system... In Feixi County, Hefei City, Anhui Province, multiple technologies have made the production line of Jianghuai Automobile Zunjie Super Factory more intelligent and contributed to water conservation and emission reduction. Calculated based on an annual hourly base of 5000 hours, the dry paint spraying system alone can save 47500 cubic meters of water per year for a new energy vehicle coating production line with an annual output of 200000 vehicles. ”Wu Mingfeng, Technical Manager of Process Planning at Jianghuai Automotive Technology Center, said. The reporter observed from production and life practices in various regions that technological innovation is fully integrated into key water-saving areas such as agriculture, industry, and urban life, injecting momentum into high-quality development. Strolling through farmland, the modernization construction and renovation of irrigation areas in various regions continue to advance, and water-saving irrigation technology is widely promoted; Visiting the workshop, technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are driving the transformation of water management towards "intelligent perception and precise optimization"; Being in the city, the construction of smart water management unleashes the potential for water conservation, allowing people to use water more efficiently... Faced with the tightening constraints of resources and environment, driven by technological innovation, it can create enormous space for improving quality and efficiency. Since the 14th Five Year Plan, China's total water consumption has achieved zero growth, despite the country's continuous economic growth and consecutive bumper harvests in grain production. According to data from the Ministry of Water Resources, by the end of the 14th Five Year Plan, China's water consumption per 10000 yuan of GDP and per 10000 yuan of industrial added value had decreased by more than 20% and 25% respectively compared to the end of the 13th Five Year Plan. New journey, new goal. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan proposes to strengthen agricultural water conservation and efficiency improvement, industrial water conservation and emission reduction, urban water conservation and loss reduction, reduce water consumption per unit of GDP by 10%, and increase the effective utilization coefficient of irrigation water in farmland to 0.6. Zhou Zheyu, Director of the Water Conservation Industry Department of the National Water Conservation Office of the Ministry of Water Resources, stated that we will continue to promote the research and development of key technologies and equipment for water resource supervision and water conservation evaluation systems, integrate technology into various fields of water conservation, and contribute to achieving the goals of the "15th Five Year Plan". As the construction party of the high standard farmland demonstration project in Dajianchang Town, Wuqing District, Tianjin, Dayu Water Conservation Group Co., Ltd., which deeply cultivates the manufacturing of water-saving equipment, has upgraded its drainage and irrigation facilities according to local conditions. Currently, it has added 1646 acres of water-saving irrigation area and achieved an annual water saving of 72400 cubic meters. Represented by Dayu Water Conservation, Tianjin's water-saving management entities continue to grow. At present, Tianjin has initially established a complete industrial chain pattern of water-saving industry research and development design, production and manufacturing, and water-saving services. By 2025, the water-saving economic benefits will reach 13.86 million yuan. Looking at the whole country from a regional perspective, the development of water-saving industry has achieved fruitful results. At present, the development pattern of "three regions and multiple zones" water-saving industry clusters represented by the three major water-saving industry highlands of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and multiple equipment manufacturing, scientific research and innovation clusters in Chengdu Chongqing, Shandong, Shaanxi, etc. has been formed. Numerous enterprises have focused on the rapid development of the entire industry chain, including water-saving research and development design, equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and management services, forming a comprehensive and systematic water-saving industry system. At present, the estimated market size of water-saving related industries in China exceeds 760 billion yuan, and 382 advanced and mature water-saving technology equipment have been selected and released on the application side. The development of water-saving industry cannot be separated from systematic planning and policy support. In February of this year, the Ministry of Water Resources released a set of 189 preferential policies for the water-saving industry, covering seven categories including financial support, special policies, tax incentives, green financial services, water price policies, government procurement, and selection and commendation. These policies cover key water-saving areas such as agriculture, industry, urban life, and unconventional water, helping water-saving industry operators make full use of current preferential policies. According to relevant plans, by 2027, China's water-saving industry will reach a scale of one trillion yuan. We will work together with relevant departments to coordinate and improve the policy system for the development of the water-saving industry, and provide greater services to various business entities in industry, academia, research, and application. ”Chen Min, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, said. At the beginning of this year, a set of data was encouraging as the institutional mechanism continued to be optimized: by 2025, the number of transactions on the national water rights trading platform exceeded 14000, and the amount of water traded exceeded 1.6 billion cubic meters, both reaching historical highs. In terms of numbers, there are practices from various regions: Ganzi in Sichuan and Alxa in Inner Mongolia have reached the second inter provincial water rights transaction in the Yellow River Basin, Anhui has innovatively explored and carried out mine water trading, and Hainan, Shanxi, Hubei and other places have actively carried out recycled water trading... The role of water rights trading in promoting the optimal allocation of water resources is increasingly evident. Taking water rights trading as a microcosm, the government and market's dual efforts have been a distinctive feature of the development of water conservation in recent years. In recent years, financing services such as "water-saving loans," "water intake loans," and "water rights loans" have gradually been promoted, and the government has provided targeted credit support based on the effective financing needs of key water-saving areas; The comprehensive implementation of water resource fee to tax reform will leverage the role of taxation to promote the efficient and intensive use of water resources. The combination of an efficient market and a proactive government has steadily improved the level of efficient and intensive use of water resources. Innovative mechanisms for more efficient water conservation and protection; Consolidate consensus and make the water-saving cause go far. Recently, the 2026 "Water saving China Tour · Hefei, Anhui" themed promotional event was held. At the launch of the water-saving publicity and education series of activities, guests from all over the country scanned codes to participate and jointly helped the "water column" on the screen climb higher and higher. Like a towering water column, the concept of water conservation and protection is taking root and growing in the north and south of the country through measures such as strengthening water education and water-saving propaganda, mobilizing the whole society to build water-saving carriers, and adopting a water-saving lifestyle as a common choice for residents. Dripping water forms a canal, and trickles converge into the sea. With science and technology as the driving force, industry as the carrier, and the concerted efforts of all parties, the growing water-saving cause will add color to a more beautiful picture of water control on the new journey, and contribute more to the realization of Chinese path to modernization in which people and nature coexist in harmony. (New Society)