Southern Jiangsu to Ban Use of Underground WaterAuthorities in Jiangsu Province, east China, has banned underground water extraction in the areas in and around the three rapid growing cities of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, the Guangming Daily reported Monday.The ban was issued to stop the excessive use of underground water, which has caused serious geological problems, including surface subsidence or sinking of land. The paper said the ban was jointly proposed by several deputies of the local provincial legislature. The deputies explained that the consumption of water has increased dramatically due to the rapid development of township enterprises over the past few years in the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou industrial belt. They said the excessive use of underground water and the fragile geological structure in the area has caused surface subsidence. This area has been China's granary for hundreds of years but it has been industrializing rapidly over the past decade. |
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