The Ecology and Environment ministry says the government will continue to ensure its people have access to clean and safe water. This comes amid a recent social media firestorm over the shady practices of one company that may be illustrative of a larger problem. Natalie Pang has the story.

For people in Shanxi Province, this river is supposed to be their "mother river" that nurtures their fertile land. However, the clear waterway is now discolored, and a pungent smell fills the air. The farmland nearby is no longer arable, and the health of residents is threatened. That's all due to industrial waste dumping by a local company.

ZHANG BO DIRECTOR GENERAL, WATER ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT "This case makes me very angry, and I appreciate the media bringing this to light. Information disclosure is an important way to promote environmental protection. The Shanxi local government has already formed a working group to investigate and ensure this will be strictly dealt with by the relevant environmental laws."

This expose also brings to light the urgent need to strengthen the country's efforts to curb water pollution. China has a huge population which relies on the many waterways scattered across the vast nation. And pollution to that life source poses a big threat to their livelihoods. The country's longest river, the Yangtze, is being threatened by a continuous flow of more than 30 billion tons of polluted water every year.

ZHANG BO DIRECTOR GENERAL, WATER ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT "The problem of extensive development has not been fundamentally solved. And the construction of environmental infrastructure in towns and industrial zones is still deficient, and the ecological harm to water is still relatively common."

A cooperation mechanism to prevent water pollution has been set up across the country. And the ministry is taking more measures to ensure waters in the country remain clear. Future work will focus on ecological restoration along the Yangtze River, domestic sewage discharge in rural areas, and marine pollution.