Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – The Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources announced on the 6th that, as of the end of January this year, the province had dredged over 130 million cubic meters of silt.
Behind this figure of 130 million cubic meters lies the tireless labor of 1.468 million people and the continuous roar of 650,000 pieces of machinery. It represents a proactive approach to addressing the prominent problem of siltation in rural waterways such as rivers, ponds, and ditches, using routine dredging of ponds and rivers as a key strategy. It is also a concrete manifestation of the "Hundred, Thousand, Ten Thousand Project" and the ecological construction of a green and beautiful Guangdong, implemented in the fields and villages.
How to ensure that waterways move from "temporary dredging" to "long-term dredging"? Guangdong's answer is to deepen the "four-pronged" working model of "mobilizing social forces, supporting militia teams, driving engineering projects, and establishing professional teams," and to establish a routine working mechanism of "winter and spring dredging and summer and autumn flood prevention."
The Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources explained that in Zhanjiang, this model is embodied in the "1431" dredging work mechanism: "1" refers to establishing a set of dredging standards; "4" refers to the four-level linkage of city, county, town, and village; "3" refers to establishing three mechanisms: responsibility system, pairing assistance, and performance evaluation and incentives; and "1" refers to creating a number of exemplary towns and villages.
Relying on the construction of the second phase of the Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project around the Beibu Gulf (hereinafter referred to as "Phase II of the Beibu Gulf Project"), the city has formed 3,619 mass dredging teams and 72 skilled worker teams, with more than 80,000 "River Youth" volunteers and 957 "civilian river chiefs" active along the rivers and canals.
"In the past, dredging might have been the responsibility of one department or one village. Now, with Party building leadership, public participation, militia support, and corporate assistance, the overall situation and efficiency are completely different," remarked Zhou Yu, head of the Zhanjiang Phase II Command Office of the Beibu Gulf Project. According to statistics, as of the end of January 2026, Zhanjiang City had completed approximately 1.96 million cubic meters of dredging during the winter and spring. This involved a coordinated effort from militia, professional teams, local residents, and project-based dredging, achieving the goal of "dredging one area, beautifying another, and benefiting the entire region."
Guangzhou, on the other hand, has taken a different approach. Since 2023, it has conducted three rounds of dredging work on ponds and rivers. As of the end of January 2026, it had dredged a total of 15.66 million cubic meters of silt, ranking first in the province in terms of total dredging volume.
It is understood that Guangzhou's water resources department has established a routine working mechanism of "winter and spring dredging, summer and autumn flood prevention," integrating dredging with irrigation area renovation, small and medium-sized river management, and the construction of "beautiful rivers and lakes," achieving "one-time entry, comprehensive results."
A spokesperson for the Guangdong Provincial Department of Water Resources stated that the next step will be to guide various localities to deepen the "four-pronged approach" working model, make good use of the "Guangdong Smart River Chief" dredging management module, promote the full-process information-based management and control of professional dredging, strengthen publicity and guidance, promote local experiences and practices, and persistently advance the dredging of ponds and rivers. (End)
