On December 20th, the Promotion Conference of Yangtze River Ecological Civilization Innovation Center "Ecological Environmental Protection Industry Technology Research Institute"(EEPITRI) was held in Nanjing. There were 17 research institutes which including "Water Conservancy and Underground Pipeline Network Research Institute" that were the first joining institutes of EEPITRI.

EEPITRI is based on the technical capabilities of the new research institution in Nanjing for energy conservation and environmental protection, with the goal of serving the construction of an innovative city in Nanjing and high-quality development in the Yangtze River Delta region, adhering to the development concept of open coordination and innovation, building a high-level science and technology coordinated innovation platform in the field of energy conservation and environmental protection, and helping to build a national technology innovation center, providing important technical innovation support for the protection of the Yangtze River ecology and green development. The Delta Water Institute is one of the new research institutions of NUIST, specializing in the research and exploration of standards for water conservancy and environmental protection, technical applications, equipment and equipment, engineering implementation capabilities, operation and maintenance management models, and pipeline network economics. The Research Institute will seize this opportunity to establish the "Institute of Urban Water and Underground Pipe Network" as a physical entity, fully leveraging its expertise in smart water management to prepare for the construction of a comprehensive 4.0 urban water laboratory. The Institute will focus on enhancing its research and development capabilities in water hydraulic simulation tests for underground pipeine networks, monitoring product development and testing, and non-destructive pipe line equipment testing, as well as conducting in-depth research on urban water and underground pipe network-related topics in the Jiangbei New Area and the Yangtze River Delta region, with a view to solving key technical problems in underground pipe network construction and contributing to the protection of the Yangtze River ecological environment. Liu Yi, General Manager of Delta Water Institute, represented DWI and signed the membership agreement with EEPITRI.