(August 27, 2007) Polluters along two of China’s main rivers (the Huai and the Liao) have defied a decade-old clean-up effort, leaving much of the water unfit to touch, let alone drink, and a risk to a sixth of the population, according to state media.
Where will Beijing get its drinking water?
(August 2, 2007) An article by Science Times reporter Yi Yongyong based on a recent talk by Chinese environmentalist Wang Jian takes us through some of the water supply problems facing Beijing. Starting from the city’s pre-PRC history and moving through the half-century since, he brings us up to the present situation and speculates on the future. He focuses on two of the largest reservoirs that have until recently been among Beijing’s primary sources.
Beijing reservoir unfit even for irrigation – report
(November 29, 2006) Water from a reservoir that serves as Beijing’s fourth-biggest source of drinking water is unfit even for irrigation, state media reported on Tuesday, underlining the gravity of China’s water pollution problem.
Pollution threatens Beijing’s future drinking water source
(November 9, 2006) Pollution is threatening Beijing’s future source of drinking water as factory discharges and untreated sewage seep into a reservoir planned for the capital’s use by 2010, water experts said.
Construction to start on Henan section of South-to-North canal
(September 14, 2006) Construction of the Henan province section of the central route of China’s south-north water diversion project will kick off by the end of September, Xinhua reports.
Cities urged to recycle more water
(September 13, 2006) It is not realistic to alleviate China’s water shortage in cities by digging channels to divert water from other regions, Vice-Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing told a meeting in Beijing. ‘That would disturb the natural water cycle.’
Top Chinese official promises fight to conserve water and prevent pollution
(September 10, 2006) China will tighten pollution controls over the next five years to provide safe drinking water to its poor, populous countryside, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at the opening of the five-day World Water Congress in Beijing.
China to provide potable water for rural residents
(September 5, 2006) China will invest billions of dollars over the next 10 years to provide drinking water for 300 million rural residents who face shortages or are without access to clean water.
River avoids pollution crisis
(August 26, 2006) The Songhua River in northeast China has avoided a chemical pollution crisis after 10 tons of chemicals were tipped into a tributary, a state environment official said.
China’s urban water supply threatened by pollution, poor management
(August 22, 2006) A senior Chinese official says pollution and industrial mismanagement are threatening water supplies in nearly 300 cities. The government is planning to spend $125 billion in the next five years to try to fix the problem.
Water pollution study keeps innovation in mind
(August 21, 2006) China will invest billions of yuan in a study on water pollution that will run for 15 years and look into drinking water security, environmental improvement of river basins and urban water pollution treatment, China Daily reports.
Chinese impose rules for water use
(August 3, 2006) ‘We need to give priority to conservation because there is now inefficient use of water in agriculture, in the cities, in the urban and industrial uses along the [Yellow] river,’ says Ma Jun, author of China’s Water Crisis.
China’s drinking water situation grim; heavy pollution to blame
(August 3, 2006) China will soon revise its national compulsory standards on drinking water quality. The indices for testing will rise from 35 to 107, and include organic pollutants and other substances caused by industrial pollution.
Pollution control ordered to protect Beijing water source
(June 23, 2006) Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan has ordered governments on the upper reaches of the Danjiangkou reservoir to curb pollution so that water to be diverted to Beijing will remain clean.
Beijing’s planned water supply faces pollution threat
(June 22, 2006) Water that will be brought to the capital along the central route of the south-north water diversion project is under threat from pollution. The source of the problem is a river more than 1,000 kilometres away, in Shaanxi province.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
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Lawrence Solomon
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