Abstract: As an innovative system of water environment governance with Chinese characteristics,the river chief system is a microcosm of the continuous development and improvement of China's water environment governance system.It promotes the inter-departmental collaborative governance of water environment through the collaborative design and operation of structure,procedure and technology,improving water environment governance from "multi-layered regulation" to "single jurisdiction".The river chief system realizes the effective integration and allocation of water control authority through structural coordination,ensures the flow of water control authority through the improvement of procedural coordination details,and provides "wisdom" for water control authority through technical coordination.However,this coordination model,which is highly dependent on authority and strong in political mobilization,inevitably leads to "heavy structural coordination","light procedural coordination",and "exclusion of technological rationality caused by rule by man" in practice.These problems will make us reflect deeply on the relationship between "clear division of responsibilities and inter-departmental collaborative governance","structural coordination and procedural coordination","technological empowerment and technological binding capacity" and so on.

Key words: river chief system, water enveronment governance, interdepartmental coordination, cooperative governance