Northeast China Province to Control Use of GroundwaterLiaoning Province in northeast China will control the use of groundwater in a move to prevent the sinking of the ground and sea water erosion.The government has banned construction of wells and other facilities extracting groundwater in certain cities, and has levied more charges on extracting groundwater in urban areas, said vice-governor of the province Zhao Xinliang. The province plans to tighten control of pollution to preserve water. Meanwhile, publicity campaigns will be carried out to arouse awareness on the importance of water conservation. Excessive extraction of water has resulted in the sinking of the ground in a 1,500-square-kilometer area and erosion of sea water in more than five cities in the province, he said. Liaoning's water resources average 860 cubic meters per capita, below the minimum level of 1,000 cubic meters set by the United Nations. Liaoning is a heavy consumer of water as the province is a traditional industrial base and has a large urban population. |
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