U.S. Water News Online
BEIJING -- China will pursue increased water conservation and management, stricter pollution control, and provide safe drinking water for millions in its impoverished countryside in the next five years, a top official said.
"Water is the source of life and the foundation on which the human civilization relies for survival and development," said Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at the opening ceremony of an international water conference.
"Handling water challenges properly is not only strategically important to China's modernization drive, but will also contribute to global sustainable development," he said. "The Chinese government pays great attention to water conservation and protection, regarding it as a priority."
Beijing considers ensuring safe, reliable water supplies as the most urgent environmental issue facing a country where a population of 1.3 billion people compete for supplies with booming industries.
The leadership has warned that the country faces a critical water shortage due to chronic pollution and chemical accidents. The government says some 340 million people already lack access to water deemed clean enough to drink.
Most of the country's canals, rivers and lakes are polluted and only about a third of the 3.7 billion tons of wastewater discharged by China's huge cities each year is treated.
Attention to the problem has been heightened by a string of industrial accidents that poisoned major rivers, forcing several cities to shut down their water systems.
Zeng said "special attention should be paid to the prevention of water-related accidents."
"The potential environment risks in such enterprises such as chemical plants and mining sites should be checked and eliminated on a more frequent basis," he said.
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