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It's time to get serious about saving water.

From March, residents in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, will pay a premium if they use more than 210 liters of water a day merely enough to take a bath.

Households that use more than the quota will pay excess charges under a new three-tier rate drafted by the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Water Conservancy.

The Guangdong Provincial Quotas on Water Consumption (GQWC) sets out different prices for water rates.

Families who use less than 22 cubic meters a month will be required to pay the standard price for their water rate, 1.32 yuan ($0.17) a cubic meter.

Those who use between 23-30 cubic meters per month will pay a higher rate of 1.98 yuan ($0.26) a cubic meter.

And those who use more than 30 cubic meters will pay 2.64 yuan ($0.34) a cubic meter, double the standard price.

Shen Shiquan, general manager of Guangzhou Tap Water Company, said the quotas were set after detailed studies were carried out on local residents' water consumption patterns.

"Most families will not have to pay extra money for their water rate provided they don't waste water, " Shen said.

GQWC has also set quotas for water consumption for industrial, agricultural and other uses.

Located in the subtropical zone in China's southern coastal area, Guangdong is rich in water resources, but water waste is common.

Guangzhou's per capita water consumption volume is 2.3 times more than the world's average two times higher than Beijing and three times higher than Paris, official figures show.

Shen's company plans to invest more than 15 million yuan ($1.94 million) this year to further upgrade the city's water supply pipeline network in a bid to save more water.

Water consumption quotas have been set for other Guangdong cities.

Wang Xuelan, a housewife in Guangzhou, said GQWC would encourage local residents to save water and reduce waste.

She believed the water-saving plan would have little impact on people's lives, even for those who took a bath every day.

(China Daily February 27, 2007)