Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies): Along the Zhangweixin River, in northern Shandong province, farmers are irrigating their fields with water from the ink-coloured river covered in thick globs of floating foam. They also drink it when their wells run dry. And people in Dezhou, where the river starts, eat the food from these fields. AsiaNews begins today a series of articles focusing on water pollution in China, a problem that has been getting worse despite government policies. However, the authorities have tended to deal more with the consequences than with the causes of pollution, which now stands as the population’s first worry. … The foam-covered black river runs by Sinusi village, choking, foul odour filling the air. Its 3,000 residents use the water in irrigation but crop yields are declining, but they fear drought more. They drink water from wells. … Read the full story [PDF].