A nationwide water pollution control project has been approved by
China's
environmental watchdog, according to a meeting held?in
Beijing?on Thursday.
The project will develop monitoring and early-warning systems
and water quality management technology to control water pollution,
and endeavor to ensure drinking water security, according to the
meeting.
Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA) said local governments should take
responsibility for controlling water pollution and cooperate with
colleges, institutes, and enterprises to solve the problem
together.
With water pollution problems rising dramatically and dangers
emerging to drinking water security, China began to prepare the
project last June.
The lack of water resources impedes China's sustainable
development and threatens people's subsistence. Statistics show
that per capita water resources in China are only one third the
world's average.
Ninety percent of waterways that flow through China's cities and
75 percent of the country's lakes are polluted.
More than 300 million of China's rural population are denied
access to clean potable water.
Experts predict that rapid economic and social development will
further worsen the water supply situation in the next five years,
making the control of water pollution a critical challenge for
China.
(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2007)
