China, A Growing Country With Scarce Water Resources

by Justin He
(Nanjing)

One statistical report indicates that the Chinese use much less water per person than Americans or Canadians, with 490 m3 the average volume drawn by this sector every year. What the statistics tries to demonstrate is that though China is a big country, its water resources are inadequate.

China does have a great amount of water resources, but the problem is that China also has a large population. Consequently, its amount of the water resource occupation per person is much lower than the world average level.

The situation of water resources in China has become very severe...

First, it has an uneven water distribution. Generally, the south has much water than the north, which is one of the reasons why we build the Three Gorges Dam—to deliver water from south to north.

Second, water pollution in China is serious. Many factories are lack of sewage disposal system, most of their effluents flowing into rivers and triggering many problems.

Third, water waste is huge. People, particularly those living in an area with adequate water, usually don’t have a clear idea of how to conserve water.

The recent drought in Guangxi province has made people realize the importance of water. However, just the realization of its importance is not enough and we should take immediate measures.

We should economize on water by recycling. We should dramatically reduce our pollution, as it is much harder for us to purify the polluted water and we should also try to develop other clean energy, such as sun or wind power to replace some water dams.

Clean fresh water is crucial to our survival. If we do not take actions now, the economic development of China will be greatly affected by lack of clean water and even our basic living conditions will not be affected.

Mr. Justin He