Facing serious water shortage problems, some northern Chinese cities, including Beijing, Tianjin and Harbin, have started to take actions to guarantee water supply.
Statistics released by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Tuesday show that hundreds of Chinese cities and towns are experiencing serious water shortages, which threaten the daily water consumption of more than 30 million urban citizens.
Major measures adopted by the water-short cities include promoting water-saving practices, imposing quota systems and raising water rates.
In Beijing, the water rate for daily consumption by local citizens has been raised from two yuan (US$0.24) per ton to 2.5 yuan per ton.
On the national front, the state has moved to build emergency water supply projects to ensure urban water supply. Since 2000, nearly 1.9 billion yuan has been spent on water diversion projects benefiting Tianjin, Changchun and Dalian since 2000.
A much bigger project, diverting water from China's rainy south to the water-scarce north, has been put on the agenda of the central government and is expected to start soon.
(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2002)
