The water resources of China are affected
by both severe water shortages and severe
growing population and rapid economic development
as well as lax environmental oversight have
increased in a large scale the water demand
and pollution.
China has responded by measures such as rapidly
building out the water infrastructure and
increasing regulation as well as exploring
a number of further technological solutions.
== Water quantity ==
=== 
Supply ===
China's water resources include 2500 cubic
kilometers of mean annual run-off in its rivers
and 828.8 cubic kilometers of groundwater
recharge.
As pumping water draws water from nearby rivers,
the total available resource is less than
the sum of surface and groundwater, and thus
is only 2,821.4 cubic kilometers.
80% of these resources are in the South of
China.
=== Demand ===
Total water withdrawals were estimated at
554 cubic kilometers in 2005, or about 20%
of renewable resources.
Demand is from the following sectors:
65% agriculture
23% industry
12% domesticIn 2006 626,000 square kilometers
were irrigated.
=== Water balance ===
Over-extraction of groundwater and falling
water tables are big problems in China, particularly
in the north.
According to the Ministry of Construction,
preliminary statistics show that there are
more than 160 areas nationwide where groundwater
has been over-exploited with an average annual
groundwater depletion of more than 10 billion
cubic meters.
As a result, more than 60,000 square kilometers
of ground surface have sunk with more than
50 cities suffering from serious land subsidence.
Flooding is also still a major problem.
In a Xinhua article from 2002, Chinese experts
warned of future or current water shortages.
Water resource usage was expected to peak
in 2030 when the population peaks.
Areas north of the Yangtze river were particularly
affected with 80.9% of Chinese water resources
being south of the river.
Northern China had used 10,000-year-old aquifers
which had resulted in ground cracking and
subsidence in some regions.A 2005 article
in China Daily stated that out of 514 rivers
surveyed in 2000, 60 were dry.
Water volume in lakes had decreased by 14%.
Many wetlands had decreased in size.Jared
Diamond stated in his 2005 book Collapse that,
in the past 50 years, exploitation in the
form of dams and other irrigation infrastructure
have all but halted the Yellow River's natural
course, threatening to dry up the entire river
valley.
The cessation of river flows, or flow stoppages,
has surged since the 1980s because of increased
water usage and waste.
In 1997, the lower Yellow River did not flow
230 days out of the year, an increase of over
2000% since 1988.
Increased erosion and sedimentation, especially
on the Loess Plateau, has made the river much
less navigable by ship.For the 2008 Summer
Olympics, China diverted water from Hebei
and Shanxi provinces, areas already beset
by drought and dramatic water shortages, to
Beijing.
In July 2008, the head of the Beijing Water
Authority Bi Xiaogang denied that the Olympics
would increase water consumption by a large
amount.
However, previously he and other local officials
said that Beijing would divert up to 400 million
cubic meters of water from Hebei for the Games
with water-diversion facilities and pipes
being built to pump water from four reservoirs
in Hebei.
Around Baoding city alone, a mostly rural
area, 31,000 residents lost land and their
homes due to a water transfer project; many
more have been displaced throughout Hebei.
According to an August 24, 2008 report by
the UK's Times, much of the infrastructure
intended for the water diversion scheme was
left half-constructed or unused when Beijing
officials realized that water demand estimates
had been far too high.
The number of tourists attending the Beijing
games was lower than expected, and many migrant
workers, ethnic minorities, and political
dissidents had left the city as a result of
intimidation or official requests.
Nevertheless, the Hebei area had already been
sucked dry to fill a number of large reservoirs,
leading to drought and agricultural losses.
=== Water transfers ===
Large-scale water transfers have long been
advocated by Chinese planners as a solution
to the country's water woes.
The South-North Water Transfer Project is
being developed primarily to divert water
from the Yangtze river.
The development or diversion of major transboundary
rivers originating in China, such as the Brahmaputra
River and the Mekong River, could be a source
on tension with China's neighbors.
For example, after building two dams upstream,
China is building at least three more on the
Mekong, inflaming passions in Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia and Thailand.
In a book titled "Tibet's Waters Will Save
China" a group of Chinese ex-officials have
championed the northward rerouting of the
waters of the Brahmaputra as an important
lifeline for China in a future phase of South-North
Water Transfer Project.
Such a diversion could fuel tension with India
and Bangladesh, if no prior agreement were
reached on sharing the river's water.On a
smaller scale, some of the waters of the Irtysh
River, which would otherwise flow into Kazakhstan,
Russia, and the Arctic Ocean, have been diverted
into the arid areas of north-central Xinjiang
via the Irtysh–Karamay–Ürümqi Canal.
=== Sea water desalination ===
Due to the water problems, as well as for
future exports, China is building up its desalination
technological abilities and plans to create
an indigenous industry.
Some cities have introduced extensive water
conservation and recycling programs and technologies.
== Water quality ==
The quality of groundwater or surface water
is a major problem in China, be it because
of man-made water pollution or natural contamination.
China's extraordinary economic growth, industrialization,
and urbanization, coupled with inadequate
investment in basic water supply and treatment
infrastructure, has resulted in widespread
water pollution.
=== Pollution and water shortage ===
Deterioration of drinking water quality continues
to be a major problem in China.
Continuous emissions from manufacturing is
the largest contributor to lowered drinking
quality across the People's Republic, but
introduction of poorly treated sewage, industrial
spills, and extensive use of agricultural
fertilizers and pesticides have proven to
be major contributors as well.
Furthermore, these water quality issues couple
with seasonal scarcity of water to spark endemic
water shortages, which frequently affect millions
of people to some extent.According to China's
State Environmental Protection Administration
(SEPA) in 2006, 60% of the country's rivers
suffer from pollution to such an extent that
they cannot be safely used as drinking water
sources.
According to the 2008 State of the Environment
Report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
the successor agency of SEPA, pollution of
specific rivers is as follows:
The Pearl River and the Yangtze River had
"good water quality";
The Songhua River was "slightly polluted"
(it was "moderately polluted" in 2006);
The Liaohe River, the Huai River, and the
Yellow River were "moderately polluted" (another
translation says they "had poor water quality");
and
the Haihe River which flows through Beijing
and Tianjin was "badly polluted".A 2006 article
by the Chinese Embassy in the UK stated that
approximately 300 million nationwide have
no access to clean water.
Almost 90% of underground water in cities
are affected by pollution and as well as 70%
of China's rivers and lakes.A 2007 article
in China Daily stated that large scale use
of pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture
also contribute to water pollution.A 2008
report about the Yellow River argued that
severe pollution caused by factory discharges
and sewage from fast-expanding cities has
made one-third of the river unusable even
for agricultural or industrial use.
The report, based on data taken last year[which
year?], covered more than 8,384 miles of the
river, one of the longest waterways in the
world, and its tributaries.
The Yellow River Conservancy Committee, which
surveyed more than 8,384 miles of the river
in 2007, said 33.8% of the river system registered
worse than level five.
According to criteria used by the UN Environment
Program, level five is unfit for drinking,
aquaculture, industrial use and even agriculture.
The report said waste and sewage discharged
into the system last year totaled 4.29bn tonnes.
Industry and manufacturing provided 70% of
the discharge into the river, with households
accounting for 23% and just over 6% coming
from other sources.There have been a high
number of river pollution incidents in recent
years in China, such as drinking water source
pollution by algae in the Lake Tai, Wuxi in
May 2007.
There was a "bloom of blue-green algae that
gave off a rotten smell" shutting off the
main source of drinking water supply to 5.8
million people.
By September 2007, the city had closed or
given notice to close more than 1,340 polluting
factories.
The city ordered the rest to clean up by June
or be permanently shut down.
The closing of the factories resulted in a
15% reduction of local GDP.
The severe pollution had been known for many
years, but factories had been allowed to continue
to operate until the crisis erupted.
The 2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions in
Jilin City caused a large discharge of nitrobenzene
into the Songhua River.
Levels of the carcinogen were so high that
the entire water supply to Harbin city (pop
3.8M) was cut off for five days between November
21, 2005 and November 26, 2005, though it
was only on November 23 that officials admitted
that a severe pollution incident was the reason
for the cutoff.Chinese environmental activist
and journalist Ma Jun warned in 2006 that
China is facing a water crisis that includes
water shortages, water pollution and a deterioration
in water quality.
Ma argued that 400 out of 600 cities in China
are facing water shortages to varying degrees,
including 30 out of the 32 largest cities.
Furthermore, Ma argued, discharges of waste
water have increased continually over the
years 2001-2006, and that 300 million peasants’
drinking water is not safe.
He warned: "In the north, due to the drying
up of the surface water, the underground water
has been over-extracted.
The water shortage in the north could have
drastic affects because almost half of China's
population lives on only 15 percent of its
water.
The situation is not sustainable.
Though the south has abundant water, there
is a lack of clean water due to serious water
pollution.
Even water-abundant deltas like the Yangtze
and the Pearl River suffer from water shortages."According
to an article in The Guardian, in 2005, deputy
minister Qiu Baoxing stated that more than
100 out of the 660 cities had extreme water
shortages.
Pan Yue, deputy director of the state environment
protection agency, warned that economic growth
was unsustainable due to the water problems.
In 2004 the World Bank warned that the scarcity
of the resource would lead to "a fight between
rural interests, urban interests and industrial
interests on who gets water in China."
In April 2005 there were dozens of injuries
in Dongyang city, Zhejiang Province, due to
clashes over the nearby chemical factories
of the Juxi Industrial Park accused of water
pollution that harmed crops and led to deformed
babies being born.
According to the article, a quarter of the
population lacked clean drinking water and
less than a third of the waste was treated.
China is expected to face worsening water
shortages until 2030 when the population peaks.The
head of China's national development agency
said in 2007 that one quarter the length of
China's seven main rivers were so poisoned
the water harmed the skin.According to a 2007
report by the World Bank, the pollution scandals
demonstrate that, if not immediately and effectively
controlled, pollution releases can spread
across the boundaries of administrative jurisdictions,
causing "environmental and economic damage
as well as public concern and the potential
for social unease".
Once an accident has occurred, the impact
on the environment and human health becomes
more difficult and more costly to control.
Therefore, the report recommends prevention
of pollution by strict enforcement of appropriate
policies and regulations.A 2016 research study
indicated that China's water contains dangerous
amounts of the cancer-causing agent nitrosodimethylamine
(NDMA).
In China, NDMA is thought to be a byproduct
of local water treatment processes (which
involve heavy chlorination).
=== Natural contamination ===
Large portions of China's aquifers suffer
from arsenic contamination of groundwater.
Arsenic poisoning occurs after long-term exposure
to contaminated groundwater through drinking.
The phenomenon was first detected in China
in the 1950s.
As water demand grows, wells are being drilled
deeper and now frequently tap into arsenic-rich
aquifers.
As a consequence, arsenic poisoning is rising.
To date there have been more than 30,000 cases
reported with about 25 million people exposed
to dangerously high levels in their drinking
water.According to the WHO over 26 million
people in China suffer from dental fluorosis
(weakening of teeth) due to elevated fluoride
in their drinking water.
In addition, over 1 million cases of skeletal
fluorosis (weakening of bones) are thought
to be attributable to drinking water.
High levels of fluoride occur in groundwater
and defluoridation is in many cases unaffordable.
=== Pollution incidents ===
The Hubei Shuanghuan Science and Technology
Stock Co poisoned at least 100 tonnes (220,000
lb) fish in a river in central Hubei province
in September 2013 with discharged ammonia
into the Fuhe river.
== Conservation and sanitation ==
Water supply and sanitation in the People's
Republic of China is undergoing a massive
transition, while facing numerous challenges
- such as rapid urbanization and a widening
economic gap between urban and rural areas.The
World Bank in a 2007 report stated that between
1990 and 2005 there have been major financial
investments in water infrastructure.
While urban water supply coverage increased
from 50% to 90%, there are still seasonal
water shortages in many cities.
Water usage by the growing population has
increased but it has decreased by industry
causing a stabilization of the overall water
usage level.
Sewage treatment of urban wastewater more
than tripled from 15% to 52%.
Installed wastewater treatment capacity grew
much more quickly due to an increasing absolute
amount of wastewater.
Absolute release of municipal pollutants has
decreased slightly since 2000.According to
a 2007 article, the SEPA stated that the water
quality in the central drinking water sources
for major cities was "mainly good".
== Management ==
The responsibility for dealing with water
is split between several agencies within the
government.
Water pollution is the responsibility of the
environmental authorities, but the water supply
itself is managed by the Ministry of Water
Resources.
Sewage treatment is managed by the Ministry
of Construction, but groundwater management
falls within the realm of the Ministry of
Land and Resources.
China grades its water quality in six levels,
from Grade I to Grade VI, with Grade VI being
the most polluted.In 2007 Ma Xiancong, a researcher
at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Institute of Law, identified the following
areas where the government failed to act,
or tacitly consented, approved or actively
took part and so created a worse situation:
land appropriation, pollution, excessive mining
and the failure to carry out environmental
impact assessments.
An example of this emerged in 2006, when the
State Environmental Protection Administration
revealed over a dozen hydroelectric projects
that had broken the Environmental Impact Assessment
Law.In 2005 experts warned that China must
use Integrated Water Resources Management
in order to achieve sustainable development.
== See also ==
Water supply and sanitation in China
Water supply and sanitation in Hong Kong
Ministry of Environmental Protection of the
People's Republic of China
Geography of China
Agriculture in China
Environment of China
Elizabeth Economy (China water pollution expert
