China’s coastal areas should use seawater to flush toilets in order to cope with increasingly worsening shortages of fresh water, said Xu Jianping, a researcher with the Second Oceanography Institute in Hangzhou, capital of the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang.
“It is important that we develop technology which will enable us to use seawater to flush toilets and thus help guarantee sustained economic development in coastal regions,” Xu said. The institute is under the State Oceanic Administration.
With the pace of industrialization and urbanization speeding up, the country has witnessed declining fresh water resources, especially in coastal regions where more dynamic economies prosper.
In Zhejiang, a province known for its rivers and lakes, per capita fresh water is 2,100 cubic meters, 300 cubic meters lower than the national average.
Statistics indicate flushing water takes up one-third of water in domestic use, accounting for 20 percent of total urban water consumption.
Xu said four technical problems have to be solved before seawater can be used for flushing: the processing of seawater, the causticity of seawater, and the processing and discharge of sewage.
(Xinhua 02/05/2001)
