Sustainable Water Resource Management in China: A Great Challenge

Abstract

With the rapid growth of population and socio-economics, progressive urbanization, and the development of agriculture and industry, the increased demand on water resources has been and will continue to be a serious problem for the susdemands and domestic uses, has already affected the aquifer’s productivity. Water quality continues to deteriorate from south to north, from downstream to upstream. This paper gives an overview on the hydrological features, water resources availabilities, water uses, and projected future water demands in China. Adaptation of an efficient and integrated policy for water utilization and relevant conservation techniques in various water consumption sectors are suggested. Recycling of water and artificial recharge of groundwater by surface water and treated wastewater should be adapted at a larger scale. The South-North Water Transfer project is one of the water will lead to China introducing demand-oriented water management strategy to complement or replace the existing supply-oriented water management practice in the future.