Data from more than 6,000 major sewage outlets in the Yangtze River basin will be shared online with local environmental protection departments to better curb pollution.

A total of 6,092 sewage points with a daily discharge of 300 metric tonnes or an annual discharge of 100,000 tonnes will be connected to the network, China Daily reported Monday.

Discharge points currently without proper monitoring systems will be upgraded, it added, citing a statement from the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission.

The commission and Taihu Lake Basin Authority jointly launched a month-long inspection over more than 8,800 discharge locations in 887 counties in the area in 2017.

Data from the commission showed about 35.3 billion tonnes of waste sewage water were discharged into the basin in 2016, up 1.9 percent from a year ago.

Despite the increase in sewage discharge, water quality of the rivers in the basin improved. More than 56 percent of the rivers recorded water quality of Grade I or II, the two highest levels in the national standard for surface water, in contrast to just 52 percent in 2014.

Official at the commission said they will continue exploring reforms in sewage discharge practices to protect water resources in the area.