China to invest billions of yuan in water pollution control project
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-19 13:50
China is to launch a giant water pollution control project involving billions
of yuan, said the environment watchdog on Friday.
It will be the country's largest environment-related scientific research
project in terms of investment, said Zhou Shengxian, head of the State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), at a national conference.
The project will develop technologies to ensure drinking water security,
limit environmental deterioration of river valleys, and control water pollution
in cities, Zhou said.
It is also expected to specify the impact of water pollution on economic and
social development, he added.
The lack of water resources has impeded China's sustainable development and
also threatened 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.
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