Abstract: The key goal of lake eutrophication management is control of pollution source in its drainage basin. Comprehensive and effective governance of Lake Biwa eutrophication benefits from the systematic control of the pollution sources in the lake basin. It can be described in three aspects:1) control of sewage discharge of factories and enterprises by legislation; 2) high degree coverage of urban sewage collection network and large centralized sewage treatment facilities; and, 3) complete coverage of the sewage treatment facilities in agricultural areas. The most successful practice is the basin-level wastewater collection and sewage treatment system with advanced technologies. The sewage pipeline network now collects 86.4% of urban pollution in the watershed, and the removal rates of TN, TP, and COD_Mn are 90.0%, 98.7% and 94.6%, respectively. Pollution control for non-point sources in the watershed consists of domestic wastewater treatment tank, agricultural wastewater treatment facilities, rainwater purification treatment facilities and farmland re-irrigation facilities. Through the systematic management of pollution sources in the watershed, the pollution loading into the lake is significantly reduced. Compared with those in 1985, COD_Mn, TN and TP load of point pollution in 2012 were reduced by 76.8%, 45.5% and 65.6%, respectively. Comparing national and local wastewater drainage standards, large centralized sewage treatment facilities and non-point source pollution control technology between Japan and China, potential directions in eutrophication management for Chinese lakes are highlighted.