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China to Face Water Shortage by 2010
With a growing population and rapid economic development, China is facing a water shortage that threatens to bottleneck its urban development, experts with the Ministry of Water Resources said.
The country will experience its most serious water shortage after 2010, they warned.
According to the ministry statistics, China will need 698.8 billion cubic meters of water in 2010, while the water supply is only 667 billion cubic meters, leaving a gap of 31.8 billion cubic meters.
The situation will worsen in 2030, with the gap widening to 50 billion cubic meters, experts said.
"The 21st century is the key period for China to realize its modernization, and water scarcity will constitute a threat to the country's sustainable development," said Zhang Jiatuan, a senior water conservancy engineer at the ministry.
Related departments and localities should take immediate measures to curb the worsening situation, he urged.
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