Latest comments posted about Saving Beijing’s reservoirs on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/1929-Saving-Beijing-s-reservoirs http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/1929-Saving-Beijing-s-reservoirs Desalinization would be an efficient means of helping to get China's citizens clean water now. It will alleviate much of the pressure that the other sources are under, but it cannot be the only pursuit. Diseases and loss of fishing industry are only some of the many costs of the polluted waters in China, and cleaning up must be made a top priority as well. Since this is a lengthy and costly process, it makes since to both start now and invest in desalinization. The real question is whether China's officials are willing to bear the burden of one or both of these options. -Jonathan Thu, 01 May 2008 01:22:22 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7310 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7310 You make a good point. First I would like to clarify that I didn’t speak for Beijing municipal government. And I didn’t mean to point a finger of blame at Hebei government in this article. I only voiced some personal views on this issue. Your suggestions share some common ground with mine. The core of my viewpoint is to solve the non-point pollution in the upper reaches of the rivers through ecological means. But in reality, these measures are ignored and money is spent elsewhere rather than where it is needed. No doubt the livelihood of farmers upstream should be taken into account. While urban residents downstream desperately need both clean water and organic farming product, both of which can be sold at a price. Beijing or the central government should launch some pilot program to help establish a market mechanism concerning water resources protection. Our experiences in Inner Mongolia and Shandong province show this is a matter of willingness, rather than feasibility. Policy-makers simply don’t realize the fact that popular involvement through market mechanism is the key to the solution of ecological restoration and water resource protection. –Jiang gaoming Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:55:41 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7308 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7308 I respect the author, however I do not think it is appropriate to offer “scientific suggestions” just on the basis of some pictures and figures as Mr Jiang does in the article. All those who are familiar with environmental protection in and near Beijing know that the city of Zhang Jiakou, situated on the upper reaches of rivers feeding the reservoirs in Beijing, has made a big sacrifice for the development of Beijing. It is known that Zhang Jiakou has been always trying to protect the water resources of Guanting Reservoir. Currently, water quality in the reservoir is quite good. Decreasing water and increasing sedimentation in the reservoir is a result of degrading ecosystem in the region, rather than the management and governance problems in Jiang Jiakou. The problems in excrement treatment and pollution resources in Beijing are as serious as those in Zhang Jiakou. Hebei is regarded as a resource for drinking water in Beijing. However, there are no signs to show that Beijing will initiate the communication with Hebei for the sake of protection of water resources. Who should be responsible for the protection of reservoirs in Beijing, Hebei or Beijing? After calculation, I found that the figures Mr. Jiang quoted are baseless. Is it possible to just spend 500 yuan (70 US dollars) for water retention on every mu of land? If so, Beijing should have funded many similar projects in neighboring areas. Also we have to recognize that the gap in economic strength between Zhang Jiakou and Beijing is expanding. Many counties in Zhang Jiakou are still very poor. So what we need to consider and discuss is how to achieve sustainable and harmonious development in both Zhang Jiakou and Beijing without ignoring the fact of widening gap between the two. What I would like to suggest are more funding from Beijing to ensure ecosystem improvement in Zhang Jiakou, no more giant industrial projects allowed in Zhang Jiakou, no more vehicles running on the road, and etc. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:03:59 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7286 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7286 As Kyle stated in comment 4, the ideas presented in article sounds great in a perfect world but unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world. The problems that have been occurring throughout China in regards to its drinking water have occurred due to people cutting corners in order to save or gain money. Corruption has also made any policies to protect the environment highly ineffective. The article states that only 80 million yuan was used to protect waters sources when 150 million yuan was funded; this makes me wonder where the rest of the 70 million yuan went. I believe the best thing anyone can do to improve the water problem would to educate everyone they know on the seriousness of the matter. Like most things in this world, it is a battle of minds. I can only hope that through proper education of the problem, people will be less likely to pursue a means to an end that can threaten China’s water supply. -JJ Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:18:18 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7283 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7283 Hey JJ, Who are you saying we should educate: the people, the government, or foreign nations? Or do you mean all of these groups? Would the education focus on using less water? I dont think the people have much power in China, so i dont know how much progress will be made from educating them. I still think the problem needs to be solved with desalinization, which will be pursued by the Chinese government and foreign nations. All of Chinas dams and water diversion projects cost billions and take seriously long amounts of time. This water will not even reach millions of rural residents. Research and development in desalinization should receive higher funds in policy decisions because China does not have enough water. End of story. - Chad Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:40:40 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7289 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7289 In the northern region of the country, the water table has dropped more than a meter. Even in Beijing, the water supply per capita is only 300 cubic meters (66,000 gallons) per year (Tina Butler, Monabay.com). China's water resources are nearly the lowest per capita in the world. And yes, its very sad that the "high" water demand in Beijing causes millions of rural Chinese a life without safe drinking water. China needs to heavily invest into desalinization of sea water. With China's polluted and shrinking fresh water resources, they are left only the option of looking to the sea. - Chad Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:59:26 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7276 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7276 Beijing’s water crisis sends a clear message to China’s unchecked urbanization process – enough is enough. Yet still governments at every level are sparing no effort in expanding their respective cities (as can be seen in their five or ten-year plans for development), especially those in small cities. No doubt city expansion can attract tourists and boost local economy, but it also wreaks destruction to local environment. Generally, the harms outweigh the benefits. I believe China’s urbanization should prioritize the development of intermediate and small cities, townships and villages. As for larger cities, the growth of population can be allowed its natural course, but the occupation of farmland has to be strictly controlled, which will make housing prices soar, thus curbing the rapid growth of urban population due to immigration. On the other hand, the low housing prices in the countryside, along with improved infrastructure preferably, will make people settle down, even reverse the rural-to-urban flow of population. This is the right path China’s urbanization should follow. When I was studying in Britain, my most favorite place was not London or Birmingham, but its beautiful countryside. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:07:56 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7277 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7277 I believe that the original article sounds good in theory, but in the real world it is going to be much harder to implement these ideas on how to conserve and treat the available drinking water. It would be a great idea to link water consumption downstream with water protection upstream using market mechanisms, but the market does not account for all the externalities that are involved in this issue. It would be nearly impossible to get the farmers upstream to comply with the policies and regulations that are needed to clean up the water for downstream users. It is a wonderful idea, I just dont think it will work. Comment number two also sounds good but I dont think we should be worried about wasting water from washing all the new cars that will be on the roads. That sounds a like a push to me. ~ kyle Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:51:41 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7271 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7271 Rumour has it that out of concern over possible public criticism over the transfer of water from four reservoirs in Hebei to Beijing, the Beijing government has put the project on hold. Reportedly Beijing will try and meet water demands during the Olympic Games with its local water reserves. That means tapping into groundwater resources. Up until now, groundwater already accounts for two-thirds of the overall water supply in Beijing. A few questions remain unanswered when it comes to Beijing water resources. How much water is left in Beijing? To what extent is Beijing’s water in crisis? In recent years, over-extraction of groundwater has caused a series of environmental problems, including ground subsidence. How long will the current over-extraction go unaddressed? There still exists the lavish use of water resources everywhere in Beijing. Experts compare Beijing to Israel in terms of water shortages. However, flood irrigation of green space can be seen everywhere in the city. Newly-licensed vehicles are being packed onto the over-crowded roads of Beijing everyday. Has anyone ever bothered to take an account on how much water will be consumed washing these vehicles? With few water-saving technologies, farming accounts for half of Beijing’s overall water consumption. And the problem of water pollution is coming to the fore. Other pollutants aside, Beijing generates 15,000 tonnes of solid waste each day. The disorderly disposal of rubbish is posing a threat to groundwater. The water transferred from the south causes underground water levels to rise, which affects some buildings via increased water pressure, as well as making numerous rubbish dumping grounds pollution spots. The list of problems can go on and on. But the biggest problem is that the truth is being hidden from us. If only the whole picture were fully revealed before the public, everyone would pool in his own effort to help overcome the crisis. The authorities need to summon enough courage to tell us the truth. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:10:03 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7254 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7254 Comment 2 is great. Does anybody know the amount of water available in China? Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:50:24 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7258 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1929#comment-7258