NANJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A new regulation on the environment protection of Yangtze River bank will go into effect on April 10 in the city of Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

According to the regulation, the Nanjing government will ban water-consuming factories in certain areas along the river. It also bans sewage outlets in areas where aquatic resources need to be conserved.

Destruction of wetlands will be severely punished, according to the regulation. The Nanjing government will send staff to repair damaged water areas along the river bank during the annual fishing ban period.

The regulation marks certain areas for economic development, but stipulates that these economic activities must have the least possible impact on flood prevention, water safety and the river's ecological environment.

Yangtze River is China's longest, at 6,300 kilometers long, with a drainage area of 1.8 million square kilometers. About 97 kilometers of the river flows through Nanjing. Nanjing is home to 8 million people.