A major salt tide is expected to sweep into Guangdong just
before the Lunar New Year, the province's astronomy
society said yesterday.
Next Monday and Tuesday, the moon will be at its closest point
to the Earth, causing what is known as a perigean tide, Li Jianji,
a director of the society, said.
Saltwater tides are a perennial problem for the province,
generally striking during the comparatively dry months of January
and February, he said.
The tide is expected to recede after the new year.
One of the potential positive effects of the cold snap that has
gripped the region is that the snow and ice it has brought are
expected to ease the saltwater tides in Zhongshan, Zhuhai and other
costal cities.
The?Pearl
River
And the abundant fresh water resources of the Pearl River
probably will overcome many of the negative effects of the
saltwater tide, he said.
In any case, the province's water supply will be secure, as will
those in Hong Kong and Macao, he said.
"We guarantee we will be able to provide least 1.1 billion cu m
of fresh water to Hong Kong this year," Huang Boqing, director of
Guangdong's water resource department, said.
According to figures from the Guangdong customs bureau, the
province supplied 720 million tons of water to Hong Kong last year,
up 16 percent on 2006.
Hong Kong will spend about HK$2.5 billion (US$347 million) on
water from the Dongjiang River this year.
Meanwhile, Shanghai, which is struggling with its heaviest snows
in decades, has already experienced a salt tide.
The mouth of the Yangtze River tends to be hit by salt tides in
the winter or early spring, causing chloride levels to rise.
The Shanghai water authority said yesterday the salt tide that
hit last Friday will last a further two days.
To ensure a steady supply of drinking water, 200,000 tons of
fresh water will be transferred from Baosteel reservoir near the
Yangtze estuary, Ouyang Tiaojun, a spokesman for the water bureau
said.
A 24-hour monitoring system has also been set up for the upper
reaches of the Yangtze.
No water use restrictions are in place at the moment as the
situation is manageable, Ouyang said.
The drinking water situation has been complicated by the
freezing and bursting of transmission pipes, but remains under
control, he said.
(China Daily February 1, 2008)
