As China's population grows and urbanises, pressure is increasing on national water resources that, on aggregate, are 25% lower than the global per capita average. Distribution of water across the country is highly uneven, with southern river systems, including the Yangtze and Zhu (Pearl), supplying more than 80% of water but supporting only half of China's population across one third of its territory. North of the Yangtze some 43% of the total population survives on just 14% of total water resources, in fragile river systems such as the Huai and Huang (Yellow). There, over-extraction of groundwater has sent water tables tumbling and deserts encroaching as far south as Sichuan. Elizabeth Economy, a leading international expert on China's environmental politics, considers that water scarcity, compounded by overuse, pollution and urbanisation, is “the most serious problem China confronts.”

More than half of national water resources are used for agriculture, which now produces only around 15% of GDP, although hundreds of millions of people still depend on farming as their main livelihood. Water for irrigation remains very cheap even in arid northern areas, where it is still widely used for growing water-intensive grain crops. Many observers question the economic rationality of this, and the 2002 Water Law makes a general commitment to price 'reform'—i.e., rises. But raising the price of agricultural water would cut further into farmer's incomes, force food price rises, and undermine national food security, which remains a preoccupation of central government. Nevertheless, current government targets are to cut agricultural water demand to 50% of total available resources, double domestic use to 8.8%, and allocate the remainder to industry. The last few years have seen a series of price hikes for domestic users, who in many cities are now paying close to the actual cost of what they consume, and prices for industry are also rising.

Runaway industrial growth, especially of largely unregulated rural industries, has contributed to very serious water pollution, and this is exacerbated by agricultural slurry and run-off from agrichemicals. Lakes are affected by eutrophication and in several provinces nitrate levels in drinking water are beginning to exceed WHO prescribed levels. Yet, despite growing interest in organic agriculture (largely driven by the need to maintain export markets in a more health-conscious world), another long-standing watcher of China's environment, Vaclav Smil, believes that Chinese agriculture will remain chemical-intensive for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, 63 million people across several provinces are exposed to high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in water supplies, and a further two million, especially in northern provinces, are exposed to naturally occurring arsenic. As many as 300 million rural people still draw drinking water from unprotected and unmonitored sources, and around 660 million lack access to basic sanitation.

Cities across the country are in need of treatment plants that can cope with urban wastewater from both domestic and industrial users. This lucrative business has aroused the interest of international investors, as well as development banks and bilateral donors, and is creating a trend towards corporatisation and privatisation of urban water utilities.

Policy responses, monitoring of quality and quantity, and remedial action are complicated by an institutional muddle in which responsibilities are divided between numerous government agencies that often have competing interests. River basin commissions are hampered by unclear mandates and cross-boundary disputes between local governments.

Although there is urgent need for water saving, central government is investing heavily in desalination plants to process seawater, and in a scheme to alleviate shortages in the north by transferring water from the relatively water-rich south. Costing as much as USD 59 billion, the water diversion project envisages three canals stretching over 3000 kilometres to bring water from the southern Yangtze to the northern Huang.

This engineering approach is unlikely to sit well with China's environmental NGOs, many of which have objected strenuously to large scale hydropower projects, especially in Sichuan and Yunnan.

Feature articles on this site:

Matt Perrement's October 2005 report, on water especially drinking water and sanitation.
Nick Young’s October 2000 article on a WWF program to restore wetlands in the central Yangtze.

Chinese NGOs active in the water sector:
Green Earth Volunteers
Green Watershed
Green River
Nu River Project
China Rivers Network
Friends of Nature

Further reading:

The World Bank China: Air, Land, and Water. Washington, DC 2001.

Nickum, James E. Is China living on the water margin? in The China Quarterly No. 156 Special Issue: China’s Environment (Dec. 1998) 880-898.

Water Management in Rural China: The Role of Irrigation Water Changes. Diplomarbeit von Dorte Ehrensperger 2004.

Xi-Peng Deng et. Al. Water Saving Strategies in Rain-fed Farming Systems

Yuping, Gu. Water-Saving Irrigation Practice in China.

Zhongping Zhu, Mark Giordano et al. The Yellow River Basin: Water Accounting, Water Accounts, and Current Issues. Water International, Volume 29, Number 1, pages 2-10, International Water Resources Association, March 2004

Updated: November 15, 2005