[Chinese Mainland] Xiamen Amends Law to Uniformly Refer to "Reclaimed Water" as "Unconventional Water", the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Water Resources Regulations Completed Amendment to Align with the Ecological Environment Code

Introduction

2026年8月27日, the Standing Committee of the Xiamen Municipal People's Congress passed the decision on amending three regulations including the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Water Resources Regulations, and on 9月30日 it was publicly announced by the Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau. The most notable aspect of this amendment is the uniform replacement of the term "Reclaimed Water" in the regulations with "Unconventional Water", while simultaneously aligning with the latest wording of the Ecological Environment Code, and improving the unified allocation of water resources and the water use quota approval system. Behind the terminology adjustment is the regulatory orientation of fully incorporating Reclaimed Water into the unified water resources allocation system, which also provides a sample for aligning local legislative terminology with the central code system.

Background

Reclaimed Water, rainwater, desalinated seawater, brackish water, etc. are collectively referred to as "Unconventional Water", as opposed to "conventional water sources" such as surface water and groundwater. For a long time, the terminology for such water resources in local legislation and engineering management has not been unified: some call it "Reclaimed Water", some call it "reclaimed water", and some call it "unconventional water sources", with overlapping concepts and inconsistent definitions, bringing alignment costs to unified water resources planning, water withdrawal permits, and water use quota approval. As a coastal city with both resource-based and engineering-based water scarcity, Xiamen has limited local water resources regulation and storage capacity, and the proportion of Unconventional Water (especially Reclaimed Water and seawater desalination) in its water supply structure has been increasing year by year, making the need for terminology unification and institutional alignment particularly urgent. This amendment is precisely a concrete action by Xiamen, using its special economic zone legislative authority, to proactively align with the wording of the national Ecological Environment Code and eliminate terminology ambiguity.

Core

The core changes of this amendment are threefold.

First, unification of the terminology system. The scattered references to "Reclaimed Water" in the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Water Resources Regulations are uniformly replaced with "Unconventional Water", keeping the regulatory text consistent with the wording of the Ecological Environment Code and the national water conservation action plan. This change may appear to be merely a noun replacement, but in fact has far-reaching implications: in planning formulation, project approval, water withdrawal permits, water use quota approval, and other links, "Unconventional Water" becomes the statutory terminology, avoiding the same project being treated differently due to different designations.

Second, improvement of the unified water resources allocation mechanism. The amendment strengthens the statutory status of Reclaimed Water (Unconventional Water) in water resources allocation, requiring it to be incorporated into the unified allocation system, with coordinated scheduling and collaborative supply together with conventional water sources. This means that in scenarios such as new industrial parks, district development, municipal miscellaneous use, and ecological water replenishment, the utilization of Unconventional Water is no longer an "option" or "supplement", but should be included in water resources assessment and water use plans together with conventional water sources.

Third, alignment of the water use quota approval system. The amendment simultaneously improves the application, approval, and supervision chain of water use quotas, forming an institutional closed loop for the withdrawal, allocation, metering, and assessment of Unconventional Water. For water supply enterprises, industrial park operators, and major water users, the "Unconventional Water offset" in water use quotas will become more operable.

From an industry perspective, Xiamen's amendment sends a clear signal: at the local level, legislative means are being used to redefine Reclaimed Water from a "byproduct of pollution treatment" to a "strategic water source". This shift in perception will directly enhance the project approval priority and financing availability of Reclaimed Water projects. For environmental protection enterprises with Reclaimed Water Reuse and Reclaimed Water allocation as their core business, terminology unification reduces the cost of scheme communication, and also means that in future project compliance assessments, the mandatory requirement of "incorporating Unconventional Water into unified allocation" will appear more frequently. As a special economic zone, Xiamen's legislative exploration may also have a driving effect on water-scarce cities in Fujian and even the southeastern coast.