Water Stress in China: Shortage and Pollution

CASS-Nottingham Environmental Infrastructure Workshop, 22 – 24 June, 2005 Water Stress in China: Shortage and Pollution CHEN Ying Research Centre for Sustainable Development (RCSD) Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

Content • Natural Endowment of Water Resources • Increasing Demand for Water Resources Driven by Industrialization and Urbanization • Unsustainable Water Utilization • OverallObjectives of Water Management • Potential Options to Promote Sustainable Development by Improving Water Management

1. Natural Endowment of Water Resources m3 Total volume: 2.8Trillion m3 Per capita: 2200 m3 ¼ of world average level

1.2 Uneven Distribution of Rainfall Dry/Wet Regions Annual rainfall

1.3 Frequent Occurrence of Natural Disasters • Drought • Main natural disaster in northern China • Even in southern China, some regions may be suffered from drought in the driest months Hainan Province Hunan Province

Flood • In most areas, precipitation of the four wettest months take up about 70% of the annual total, often resulting in flooding. 2005-6-11 1999 2001

1.4 Severe Soil Erosion • Soil Erosion takes place in an area of 3.56million km2, about 37% of the total land area in China • Annual quantity of soil eroded reaches 5 billion tons. Upstream of Yellow River across Hexi Corridor

2.1 Water Use Pattern (64%) Total: 532 billion m3 Water Use in 2003

2. Increasing Demand for Water Resources Driven by Industrialization and Urbanization • During 1952-2002: • GDP increased 40 times, GDP per capita up 17 times; • Water use increased 4.3 times, water use per capita 1.3 times higher; • Water demand projections for 2020:

3. Unsustainable Water Utilization • Low efficiency of water use • Agricultural irrigation: water use co- efficiency is only 0.4-0.5 in China comparing to 0.7-0.8 in developed countries; • Industry: 24.1 m3 water /1000 RMB industrial production, about 5-10 times that in developed countries; water consumption per ton steel produced 4-6 times higher than developed countries

3. Unsustainable Water Utilization • Water pollution Water quality monitoring for 7 rivers in 2004

3. Unsustainable Water Utilization • Waste of water • Leakage of water supply pipes can be 5-10%, some up to 15-17%; • Over-extracted underground water • Cones of depressions • Dry wells • Seawater intrusions • Land subsidence

4. Overall Objectives of Water Management • To guarantee access to safety drinking water for human health; • Water supply under threats in urban area; • 360 million people in rural area lack of safety drinking water, 190 million people suffer from drinking water harmful to their health;

4. Overall Objectives of Water Management • To mitigate disasters of drought and flood • To guarantee food security; • To promote economic development; • To protect ecological environment; • Yellow River going dry

5. Potential Options to Promote Sustainable Development by Improving Water Management • Water transfer? • Waste water treatment? • Water saving?

5.1 South-to-North Water Transfer Project • Three routes (east, middle and west) connecting four major rivers to form a new pattern of water resource allocation (4 latitudinal and 3 longitudinal); • 44.8 billion m3 by 2050, equivalent to the annual usable quantity of water resources of Yellow River; • 13.4 billion m3 for Phase I to relieve water shortage in Beijing, Tianjin and cities in eastern Shandong Province; • High costs lead to high price

5.2 Waste Water Treatment • Among water pollution control projects of main river basins in the tenth “Five-year-plan”, only 32% finished, 28% under construction and 40% not started; • Some newly built waste water treatment facilities rarely operate; Invested 79 million, Upstream of Three Gorges Wei River

5.2 Waste Water Treatment • Despite some successful pilot projects, the use of treated water from wastewater treatment plant has been very limited;

Some Key Elements of Efficient Water Management System • Public awareness • Legislation • Technology • Economic incentives • Integrated management

Water Pricing System Reform • Beijing planned to introduce progressive water prices but finally delayed to implement; Public Hearing

Integrated management • Coordinating interests between • Agricultural irrigation, industrial and residential uses; • Upstream and downstream; • Surface and underground water • Water quantity and water quality • Seven “River Commissions”, as bureaus of the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) were sep up to take this responsibility.

Thank you! Email: cycass@163bj.com

Water Stress in China: Shortage and Pollution