Posted November 23, 2006
Gu Jia, Shanghai Daily
Write an email about this article
View the source for this article (may require registration or a fee).
Fair Use
2006-11-23
UP to two thirds of China's 661 cities are facing water scarcity, and at least 100 are facing severe drought, according to a report issued by the country's Ministry of Water Resources.
Water shortages are holding back the development of these cities, which are mainly located in the country's central and west provinces, China News Service said today, citing the report.
Water pollution is also increasingly threatening Chinese residents' quality of life.
China produced 71.7 billion tons of sewage last year, and up to 70 percent was dumped into local rivers without being treated. This has polluted up to 90 percent of the country's water resources, according to the report.
The health of the Yellow River, which supplies water to more than 155 million people and 15 percent of China's farmland, continues to deteriorate as it faces a series of manmade challenges that endanger its entire ecosystem, said a previous report.
Sixty percent of the water in the Yellow River is used by citizens and trade and industry activities, compared with the internationally recognized limit of 40 percent.
The National Development and Reform Commission released a new regulation on the supervision of water pricing on November 13 to clarify what can be included in the cost of water, to raise public awareness to the severity of the shortage in China.
The regulation suggested that the price of water should be based on a number of factors - the costs of tapping the water resource, providing the running water, constructing the pipes and the treatment of sewage.
In addition, it imposed limits on expenditures for office buildings, salary raises, staff benefits and hospitality expenses of water companies, which are also included in the cost of water.