Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, celebrated World Water Day on Monday by taking a new water-saving measure to curb excessive water consumption.

According to a regulation drawn up by Waterworks Co. of Yinchuan City, families which consume less than 12 tons of water a month pay 1.15 yuan for each ton of water. The price per ton of water above 12 tons will be increased by 60 cents, and the price of water will be doubled when the monthly water consumption exceeds 18 tons.

Meanwhile, industrial enterprises, public institutions and business firms also pay a higher price for excessive water consumption.

Beijing and Hebei, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces will follow the example of Yinchuan to adopt progressive charging on water consumption. Some municipalities and provincial capitals are making active preparations in a bid to put progressive water charging into practice before 2005.

The theme of this year's 12th World Water Day is "Water and Disaster."

Water shortage is a severe problem in China. Though the country is rich in water resources, it ranks 121st in the world in terms of per capita share of water resources. Some 400 out of 668 cities in China lack water supply, which decreased the industrial output value by 230 billion yuan (US$27.7 billion) annually.

To alter the situation, the Chinese government launched in 2002 the gigantic south-north water diversion project to send water to arid northern China through three water routes. The project is take six to eight years to complete and cost an estimated 486 billion yuan (US$58.5 billion).

However, the project can't solve the problem of water shortage if people don't save on water, said Zhang Zonghu, an academician of the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Taking Yinchuan, one of the 100 cities suffering from severe water shortage around the world, as an example, one fifth of water supply is lost annually as a result of waste.

"A low water price is the root cause of wasting water resources. In arid rural China, the price of 1,000 cubic meters of water for farm use is no more than the price of a bottle of mineral water," said Zhang Honglin, general manager of the Yinchuan City Waterworks Co.

The decision of charging more for excessive water consumption will help people cultivate the concept of water saving, while putting no extra burden on people keeping a rational use of water, Zhang added.

The practice of progressive charges on water has been listed in China's Water Law and will be popularized in more areas in upcoming years.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2004)