Quotas for water use will be applied on a trial basis starting tomorrow in Guangdong Province. That means enterprises, agricultural production, public service and urban residents will have quotas restricting water use during the trial period over the next two years.

This southern province becomes the first locality in the country to use quotas to raise awareness of the importance of saving water and to determine the most efficient ways to conserve its limited water resources.

Guangdong's move is exemplary for the rest of the country since water shortages have increasingly strained economic development and social progress in both cities and rural areas.

Statistics indicate that more than two-thirds of the country's more than 600 cities are suffering from water shortages. And 110 of them are seriously affected by lack of water.

China's per capita water resources are 2,200 cubic meters, only one-fourth the world average. So making the most efficient use of water is of the utmost significance both for sustainable economic development and quality of life.

Regrettably, most cities failed to take pre-emptive action to save water as part of their development strategies over the past few decades. The pursuit of economic growth has been the priority overshadowing the vital issues as water resources and ecological balance.

As a result, inefficient use of water throughout society aggravated already serious water shortages.

Statistics show that 465 cubic meters of water were used to produce 10,000 yuan ($1,290) worth of GDP in 2003, four times the world average. For 10,000 yuan worth of industrial added value, 216 cubic meters of water were used, 10 times more than in developed countries.

At the same time, more than two-thirds of waste water is directly discharged into rivers or the ocean, resulting in the pollution of 90 percent of the underground water in urban areas nationwide. This failure to treat waste water has also added to water shortages.

Never before have we been under such pressure to develop a long-term plan for the most efficient use of water.

But a plan, no matter how enlightened, is far from enough. We need more severe rules and penalties to change business as usual including stopping discharged waste water from further polluting our rivers, oceans and underground water supplies.

Along with quotas for water use, Guangdong needs effective measures to stop water pollution.

We hope that the trial in Guangdong will be a success and other areas will follow suit.

Source: China Daily