China says water supplies exploited by 2030 written by Chris Bukley reports:
China will have exploited all available water supplies to the limit by 2030, the government has warned, ordering officials to prepare for worse to come as global warming and economic expansion drain lakes and rivers with that, the state council issued a directive:
“Taking into full account water-saving, by 2030 our country’s water use will reach or approach the total volume of exploitable water resources, and the drought-fighting situation will be increasingly serious.” Water supply in China is undergoing a massive transition while facing numerous challenges such as rapid urbanization, a widening gap between rich and poor as well as urban and rural areas, as well as water scarcity, contamination and pollution. Much has been achieved during the past decades in terms of increased access to services, increased municipal wastewater treatment, the creation of water and wastewater utilities that are legally and financially separated from local governments, and increasing cost recovery as part of the transformation of the Chinese economy to a more market-oriented system. The government has quadrupled investments in the sector during the current 2006–10 Five-Year Plan. Nevertheless, much remains to be achieved. A staggering 300 million Chinese still do not