IN addition to his work as chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of Yixing, a city in Jiangsu Province in east China, Wang Zhongsu was given an extra task. In 2011, he was appointed chief of the Caoqiao, a major river running into freshwater Taihu Lake. The 23-km-long river was the most poluted waterway in Yixing.rnThe concept of river chiefs is an administrative measure taken by the Chinese Govment to ad-dress the increasingly serious problem of water polu-tion. These chiefs have to protect the water resources under their jurisdiction, prevent and control polution, manage the river banks, and undertake ecological restoration. If any environmental damage occurs in the bodies of water under their supervision, they will be held accountable.