Fifty-nine of one hundred and sixty-seven cities in the Yangtze
River drainage basin suffer from water shortage to varying degrees,
twenty-six of which are even plagued by a severe lack of water.
Yangtze River drainage basin is rich in water resources, with an
annual water runoff of more than 980 billion cubic meters, which is
37% of all the water runoff of the country. Despite the dense
population here, average runoff per capita is 2,400 cubic meters
every year, higher than the national average of 2,100 cubic
meters.
Though the water resources are rich here, the problems of water
pollution and extravagant using of water still cause severe water
shortage. Now water has become the key problem in the development
of these cities.
Shanghai and Wuxi are suffering from the lack of good-quality
water. In Shanghai, less than 1% of all its ground water is
drinkable. Eutrophication of Taihu Lake has also made most of
ground water in Wuxi useless. As a matter of fact, pollution has
wasted most of the ground water in the lower reaches of the Yangtze
River.
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(Chinanews.cn August 9, 2006)
