Wolfgang Kinzelbach talks to local farmers on one of his trips to China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The project, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and China's Ministry of Water Resources, is being implemented in Heihe Basin in northwestern China and in Handan on the North China Plain.

In the project, pumping wells are monitored by smart meters sending real-time information to a control center. The data is then fed into a groundwater model which determines the optimal water allocation for the next season based on resource constraints.

The result is checked by monitoring water levels in automatic observation wells.

"An aquifer can be looked upon as a kind of bank account. If you take out more money than is coming in, the account will eventually be emptied," Kinzelbach says, adding that a well-filled aquifer is a cushion even against prolonged droughts.

"Our deal for the farmers－if you reduce your pumping rate to a sustainable amount we can guarantee that you have water, and a good harvest, in drought years, too."

But Kinzelbach points out that while technology can solve problems, economics and management of water resources play vital roles.

"When the water supply agency has to maintain its services by selling water, it will not be prepared to save water as its income will be reduced," Kinzelbach says. "The uncoordinated play of interests does not allow finding an optimal solution for society as a whole."

China still faces huge challenges in this sphere, he says.

In the future, water quality should be the main focus, instead of quantity, and problems such as salinity of groundwater should be tackled, he adds.

In the recent times, he has come to China almost three times a year, staying for about a month each time. He enjoys traveling in the country.

"The work-related travel takes me to less touristy spots, but I really enjoy the countryside and the contact with farmers," he says.

Even when not in China, the fluent Mandarin speaker follows news about China.

And anyway, China is a part of his life in Zurich－Chinese visitors, Chinese employees and a Chinese wife.