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China is a massive country, with a population of over 1.4 billion people, it's one of the largest
nations in the world. While China is home to 20% of the world’s population, it holds only 6% of
the world’s total freshwater resources. Due to China’s rapid economic growth and population size,
the country is one of the world’s leading water consumers. China withdraws 600 billion cubic
meters of water on a yearly basis. This extreme amount of water being consumed has hindered the
country’s water supply lines, and caused water scarcity. The Chinese government's attempts to
solve the problem have not gone to plan, only worsening the water crisis. But all of this
raises the question, Why is China running out of Water and how can this complex problem be solved.
To answer this, we first need to take a look at China's current water distribution network.
Most of China’s water supply resources are located in southern China,
while ⅔ of the population and most of the farmland is in northern china. The so-called line that
separates east and west china illustrates where most of the population is located,
and where most of the freshwater ends up going. This is one of the key factors behind the water
crisis as it is nearly impossible to change the distribution of water across the country.
Only 21% of China's water goes towards domestic use, with 69% for agriculture and 10% for
industrial purposes. 80% of China's water supply comes from rivers and runoffs, which are mainly
located in southern china. Based on these numbers, we can tell where most of the water is being used,
But we still don't understand what exactly is causing the country to run out of water.
There are a few important factors which are behind the water crisis, that are all affecting
the problem in a different way. A key factor is the uneven distribution of water resources.
THis is where the population divide line comes into play. 94% of China's population
lives east of this line, with only 6% on the western side. This means that the majority of
the country’s water reserves are not located anywhere near their intended usage location.
THe water crisis has turned out to be an expensive problem for the Chinese government, as now they
have to divert water from wet regions in the south, to the drought plagued north. Experts have
assessed that the country loses over 100 billion dollars annually as a result of water scarcity.
The Chinese government has attempted to solve the problem using a variety of methods such as
building dams and diverting water supply lines. But most of these plans to solve
the problem have had devastating effects on the environment and other countries in central asia.
Water Resource management has also played a role in the water crisis.
A big part of the water supply problem that China is facing does not involve the amount of water
China has, but how much of that water can actually be used. Over 80% of ground water in north-east
china is considered to be undrinkable due to high levels of pollution. The Chinese government is
working to improve the quality of water throughout the country with large infrastructure projects
such as the South-North Water Transfer project. The government is spending more than 60 billion
dollars to transfer water from rivers in southern China and divert the water to supply the dry
northern rivers. Although the project is promising in solving the water crisis, its completion date
of 2050 shows that it will not have immediate benefits in solving China's water problem. Now
that we understand that China's depleted water supply is caused by multiple complex problems,
many questions emerge regarding how the government will handle the problem in the future.
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The Chinese government has stated that they have plans to tackle the water crisis and are
determined to solve the problem. As we have already seen the south north water transfer
project, what else does the Chinese government plan to do to put an end to the water crisis.
One option the Chinese government is considering is to use desalination plants to keep up with the
rising demand for freshwater. The government has created a plan that will invest into
building new desalination plants over the next 3 years and will be built in various
provinces across the country. The government stated that desalination water will become
a major back up source of municipal water supplies in regions suffering from water shortages.
Another option the government has considered is limiting water consumption from its population and
various industries such as farming. In the past, the government has allied for a 30% decrease in
water consumption in something called a five year plan. In 2016, the 13th water consumption limit
plan was introduced, and it had some benefit to the water country’s water supply. These guidelines
helped China slightly drop in its yearly water consumption, although in the end it didn't make
much of a difference. The state of China's water supply system is at its worst point in history,
with many experts warning that China needs to act to solve the problem immediately. As the
country continues to develop, its water supply infrastructure will continue to deteriorate,
only worsening the problem. The Chinese government has set a goal to reduce their water usage per
unit of GDP by 16% over the next 3 years. Other goals include only having China's total water
consumption increase by 100 billion cubic meters by 2030. THese are extremely high expectations for
a country whose economy continues to accelerate and is home to the largest population in the
world. But the government setting goals shows that they are working to solve the problem,
and are taking steps to limit water consumption within the next few years.
THroughout the past few decades, the Chinese water crisis has caused many problems throughout the
country and for its residents. While some have offered praise to China's management of this
complex problem, others have voiced their concerns and criticisms with China's handling of the water
crisis. After tens of billions of dollars were invested into various infrastructure projects to
attempt to solve the water crisis, most of the developments have not made the difference or
offered any relief to the provinces across China that battle with this crisis everyday. Throughout
the next few years, the Chinese government needs to take action on this serious problem
its residents and industries face everyday. If China's economy and population continues to grow,
it will only place more stress on the current water supply infrastructure throughout the
country. A lot is on the line for China as they are battling one of the most important problems
the country is facing and only time will tell if they end up solving this problem. successfully.
Water supply is one of the most important necessities to a country,
and the government needs to take action to prepare the county for the future ahead.If you enjoyed the
video, please consider subscribing and thanks again to nords vpn for sponsoring this video.