Water Resources In China

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China: Management of Water resources By: Raghav Gandhi Water Resources Development in China Introduction China for the past 30-40 years is under the state of a major transition. The country has undergone some astounding social and economic reforms, and is likely to continue its growth in the coming decades. Rapid economic growth in the nation has lead to some huge challenges to its government to face, due to the scarcity of water resources, severe water pollution, increasing domestic and industrial water demands, and other water-related environment concerns. Some facts (Water Resources) China’s great land mass of 9.597 million kilometer square extends from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west to the coastal plains in the east. The scale…show more content…
Also at the same time usage of water continues increasing in the domestic and industrial sectors. This severe conflict existing between supply and demand has resulted in clashes between regions. Due to water scarcity, water is often not available to fulfill environmental requirements. Groundwater is being overdrawn on an average of 10 billion meter cube per year, resulting in land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Due to which, the groundwater tables in North China Plain have fallen by 10 to 50 meters in the last ten years. Water shortages are intensified by high levels of water pollution. The total wastewater discharge in the year 2007 was 75 billion meter cube, which is more than twice that was in 1980. The discharge levels are making it extremely difficult to maintain the quality of water and are threatening drinking water supplies. More than half of China’s major cities don’t satisfy with national drinking water quality standards. Around 37% of China’s land suffers from water and soil erosion, which further contributes to the degradation of river…show more content…
Around 60% of the length of the Hai and Yellow Rivers is at this high level of pollution, with more than half of the Hai River so severely polluted that it is not suitable even for agriculture purposes. Flood control has been an integral component of the water resources management in China for centuries. Even though there have been huge efforts over the years in flood forecasting, planning and the construction of flood mitigation works, flooding remains a major issue on an annual basis. The year 2007, was classified by the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) as a ‘medium to severe’ year, since more than 12 million hectares was flooded and the flooding affected over 177 million people, which resulted in 1230

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