Introduction of the water resources in China
Supply
China's
water resources include 2,711.5 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.
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 also still is a major problem.
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 to
the Yellow River and Beijing.
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 would be reached on
sharing the river's water.
The
water problem in China
The water
resources of China are affected by both severe water quantity
shortages and severe water quality pollution. A growing population and rapid
economic development as well as lax environmental oversight have increased
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.
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.
About
one third of the industrial waste water and more than 90 percent of household
sewage in China is released into rivers and lakes without being treated. Nearly
80 percent of China's cities (278 of them) have no sewage treatment facilities
and few have plans to build any and underground water supplies in 90 percent of
the cites are contaminated.
Water
shortages and water pollution in China are such a problem that the World Bank
warns of “catastrophic consequences for future generations." Half of
China's population lacks safe drinking water. Nearly two thirds of China's
rural population---more than 500 million people---use water contaminated by
human and industrial waste.
Water
consumed by people in China contains dangerous levels of arsenic, fluorine and sulfates.
An estimated 980 million of China's 1.3 billion people drink water every day
that is partly polluted. More than 600 million Chinese drink water contaminated
with human or animal wastes and 20 million people drink well water contaminated
with high levels of radiation. A large number of arsenic-tainted water have
been discovered. China's high rates of liver, stomach and esophageal cancer
have been linked to water pollution.
Water
pollution and shortages are a more serious problem in northern China than
southern China. The percentage of water considered unfit for human consumption
is 45 percent in northern China, compared to 10 percent in southern China. Some
80 percent of the rivers in the northern province of Shanxi have been rated
“unfit for human contact."
Water
usage in cities in China
Beijing
Beijing
the nations capital is also its political and cultural center, hosting numerous
national organizations and a large number of civil servants. The special
position of Beijing in nation’s political life differentiates it from nearby
Tianjin and graces it with the widest streets and highest per capita green
space in the country (Sit, 1995). But before economic reform, under the
ideology of ‘‘converting consumptive cities into productive centers’’, industrial
development was also a major driven force in the development of Beijing, just
like in any other Chinese cities. In 1958, the value of Beijing’s heavy
industrial output, mostly metallurgical industries, outweighed the output of
other industrial sectors. In 1991, the gross heavy industrial output of Beijing
accounted for 3.4% of the nation’s total (Beijing Statistics Bureau (BSB),
1992).
The
latest Master Plan (1990–2010) refocused urban development on the
characteristics of Beijing as the nation’s capital. Major urban planning
policies are directed toward the structural adjustment of industry, land use
and of the economy with an emphasis on the development of high-tech and
tertiary sectors, and the relocation of energy-intensive, water-intensive,
land intensive and highly polluting industries. Improving the quality of life
and of the environment are the major objectives of this plan. By 1998, the
tertiary sector accounted for 56.6% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
Beijing and has become the dominant force in Beijing’s economy (Fig. 3).
Beijing
has a registered population of 10.85 million, and covers an area of 16,807.8 square kilometers (Beijing Statistics Bureau (BSB), 1999). For a long time, growth control
has been the top priority of urban policies. By 1998, the registered population
had grown to 262.2% of that in 1949. Beijing, which includes a rural area, has
an urbanization level of 66.29%, much higher than the national average of
23.9%. The average urban household size is only 2.89 persons in Beijing. Between
its symbolic role and strong economic growth, Beijing attracts one of the
largest floating populations, or unofficial migrants, among Chinese cities,
peaking at 3.29 millions in 1994 (Beijing Statistics Bureau (BSB), 1995).
Economically,
urban households in Beijing have been better off after the economic reform. Per
capita annual disposable income increased more than 23 times, from 365.4 yuan
in 1978 to 8,471.98 yuan in 1998. The possession rate of household
water-consuming appliances as the result of the improved living standards also
grew rapidly. In 1998, there were 102.2 washing machines per 100 households;
while in 1978 there was only 0.1; water heaters and showers were unheard-of in
1978, while there were 65.4 water heaters per 100 households in 1998 (Beijing
Statistics Bureau (BSB), 1999).
In
1998, Beijing had 24 water plants, of which 13 are located in city proper and
near suburbs with a daily supply capacity of 3.3 million cubic meters. Every
year approximately 759.68 million cubic meters of water were sold, of which 75% was for
domestic use and was 18.4% for industrial use. Meanwhile, self-managed water
supplies produced another 472.43 million cubic meters , 45.9% for domestic use and 54.1%
for industrial use (Beijing Statistics Bureau (BSB), 1999). In 1998, municipal
tap water utilities produced 72.4% of domestic water. Per capita water use was
238.2 liters per day.
Shenzhen
Shenzhen
sits in subtropical south China, where
four-fifths of the country’s water resources flow.
The monsoon brings heavy rains from April to September; at its peak, Shenzhen’s
more than 7 million residents see pouring rain almost every day.
So
why is this city facing a serious water shortage?
Statistics
from the government show that Shenzhen is among the top 10 most water-scarce
cities in China, with per capita water resources one-twelfth of the national
average. Residents had less than 160
cubic meters of water available per person in 2010, significantly lower
than the United Nations’ definition of absolute scarcity threshold (500 cubic meters).
Officials
attribute the lack of water to the fact that no major rivers flow through the
area. Worse yet, factories used to discharge wastewater without proper
treatment into what small, seasonal creeks are here, causing serious pollution
and tainting local drinking water.
To
ease its thirst, Shenzhen has been scrambling to import water and become more
efficient. But each solution comes with its own challenge. As the city’s
population and economy grow, water demand is expected to outstrip supply by
2020.
Diverting
the Dongjiang
Shenzhen
is no stranger to water problems. In the early 1990s, the city suffered from severe
droughts for three years in a row. According to Liang Ming, a former official
in the Shenzhen Water Resource Bureau, some neighborhoods had running water
less than three hours a day while others did not have access at all. The
municipal government delivered water door to door using fire trucks.
In
1991, Liang noted in his memoir that Shenzhen’s water crisis hit an extreme,
with a total daily deficit of 250,000 cubic meters. This shortage forced many
businesses to leave Shenzhen and local officials to turn to neighboring regions
for help.
Negotiations
generated a project that drops pipes into the Dongjiang River as it passes
through Huizhou city, northeast of Shenzhen, sucking up nearly 1 million cubic
meters of water each day. It is then pumped uphill to reservoirs in Shenzhen
before entering treatment plants.
Since
this $600 million diversion project began operation in 2001, it has become a
lifeline for the city. Municipal officials love the project so much they
started a second phase in 2006 to increase its capacity.
Currently,
the Dongjiang water diversion project – stretching 106 kilometers long and
consisting of 17 tunnels and six water pumping stations – meets more than 70 percent of Shenzhen’s water demand.
The imported water also supports the production of goods equivalent to one-third of the total economic
output from the city.
However,
this solution has not come without a price.
Pumping
Water, Burning Through Energy
Moving
water demands energy. Statistics on the energy consumed by the Dongjiang water
diversion project – both for transferring the water and the embedded energy
required in its construction – have not been calculated, but a statement from a
local utility gives a clue.
The
Guangdong Power Grid Company said in 2009 that the diversion project was one of its largest energy consumers in
Huicheng district of Huizhou city. The district is a fast-expanding electronics
manufacturing hub with a population of more than 1 million people. That alone
is eye-opening, but the estimate only took into account energy consumed during
the project’s first phase. The utility also projected energy consumption would
increase by one-third when the second phase of the project went online in 2010.
Since
the region gets most of its energy from coal-fired power plants, the more
electricity the water diversion project requires, the more coal is burned to
generate that electricity. At stake are air quality and a substantial amount of
heat-trapping carbon emissions.
On top of that is
increasing competition. “Chinese cities in recent years have begun to compete
for water resources,” said the municipal government in a 2010 statement. “It has become
more and more difficult for Shenzhen to import water.”contributed by Rose
