1. There is the uneven distribution of water resource between northern and southern China

 

Southern China has more water resources than northern China. The flow of Yangtze River which locates in south, and the rivers south to Yangtze River accounts for 83% of the total river flows in China. And the farmlands in those regions are 38% of the total farmland area. However, the flow of Yellow River and other major rivers in the north account for only 6% of the total river flows, while the farmlands in those regions are 40% of the total farmland area in the country. Anisfeld also elaborates the uneven distribution of water resources in China in terms of climate:

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“Like the US, China is large enough that it contains regions with very different climatic conditions. While southern China receives average annual precipitation of 1000-1500 mm, much of northern China receives only 600 mm, dipping to as low as 35 mm in the desert northwest. Despite this, the North China (defined here as the watersheds of the Huang, Hai, and Huai and the northern endorheic region) has a per capita water availability of 704 m3 person-1 year-1, compared to 3230 in the rest of the country. The Yellow River (Huang He) in the North is fully utilized and no longer reaches the sea much of the year, while the Yangtze River in the South still has abundant flows (though it has certainly suffered its share of ecological damage, including the massive Three Gorges Dam). Agriculture in the North has been surviving on unsustainable groundwater uses, and Beijing and other northern cities are in real danger of water scarcity. Unregulated pollution of surface and ground water is compounding the problem.” (Anisfeld)

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2. The negative impacts of water scarcity in northern China become increasingly serious.

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Northern China is abundant with different mineral resources and the relief is smooth; it is the core area for heavy industrial chemical base. Northern China also has a great potential for developing agriculture and animal husbandry. However, the water scarcity in northern China greatly restricts the potentially social and economic development. Due to long-term problem of water over-demand, a serious of social, economic and environmental problems becomes worsen.

 

Firstly, water shortage has largely brought troubles to industry, agriculture and people’s daily life. In early 1980s, large-scale drought caused significant economic loss in northern China. Many factories shut down and citizens could only access to water with a limited amount in a limited time period. Also, in order to guarantee the water supply in cities, a large proportion of agricultural water had to be diverted into cities, which also caused a great loss in agricultural productivity. Thus, water scarcity incurs contradictions between regions, different industries and agriculture.

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Secondly, there has been over-exploitation of groundwater. In order to get enough water in economic development, ground water has been excessive extracted under the condition of scarce surface water. The drop of water table has caused ground depression in major cities in northern China like Beijing, Tangshan and Tianjin. Also, in several major cities in Shandong Province, the water table has already been lower than sea level, leading seawater intrusion into fresh water table.

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Thirdly, in some regions, people always extracted contaminated ground water to drink, causing the sprawl of diseases such as thyropathy and fluorosis. A large amount of waste water was reused without any processes, so it caused environmental pollution and contamination on agricultural products. Therefore, developing South North Water Transfer Project is imperative for China to balance the water resources and effectively improve the domestic economy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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