China's Coming Water Crisis

Water Shortages Reach Crisis Levels In China -- CNN

Beijing, China (CNN) -- China can't dam or divert water quickly enough to keep up with its thirsty population, and the shortage has reached crisis levels in Beijing and other areas.

In northern China this month, farm fields have developed cracks up to 10 meters (32.8 feet) deep. Farmers in Chifeng city have had to delay harvests to avoid injury, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. According to the Chifeng's hydrological bureau, 62 percent of the city's 51 reservoirs have run dry, Xinhua said. More than 250,000 people are short on drinking water.

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My Comment: Even the Chinese press is starting to notice the impact of water shortages in the countryside, and its impact on agricultural communities.

In my own personal case I first noticed China's water problems on my first visit to the country in 1988. Arriving, I was told bluntly to not drink the water, and while touring the country I was witness to the environmental and ecological disaster of stripping trees from mountain slopes, dumping sewage (and God knows what else) into river systems, and a lack of infrastructure to accommodate China's growing cities and industrial development .... and this was in 1988.

Over the years this problem has only gotten worse .... and not surprisingly .... this ecological disaster has finally caught up to the Chinese. Will they cut back on their expanding economy .... I doubt it. But eventually .... and very soon .... tough decisions are going to have to be made.