By staff reporter Ouyang Hongliang

The 1.2 billion cubic meters Huangbizhuang Reservoir (HBZ) is located thirty kilometers from Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, within which Beijing and Tianjin lie. Willows whisper around the pleasant reservoir, but the dry riverbed downstream from the reservoir is a cruel reminder of the long-term water crisis of the North China Plain.

HBZ, together with the Gangnan Reservoir which can hold 1.6 billion cubic meters of fresh water, provides water for the irrigation of millions of mu (1 mu = 666.7 square meters) nearby, and are the only surface water resources for Shijiazhuang. After a prolonged ten year drought there is only 600 million cubic meters of water in the two reservoirs and of this, 200 million will be transferred to Beijing for water supply during the Olympic Games.

An official responsible for the management of the HBZ reservoir told Caijing that Shijiazhuang's drinking water has been allocated but water for irrigation will depend on the rainfall received during this summer.

The North China Plain was struck with severe drought in the early 1980s, described as “the First Water Crisis of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei” by Chen Zhikai, one of China's leading water engineers. In the past 20 years, the economic development in North China has been dependent on the overuse of groundwater, in light of the extreme lack of surface water.

New wells in villages along the Hutuo River have become deeper and deeper. There are now more than two million deep wells on the North China Plain, causing land subsidence into funnel shaped depressions. Subsidence such as funnels not only increase farming costs but endanger daily life. In the Ningbailong district a crack ten centimeters wide but running for eight kilometers, with some parts as deep as 10 meters, appeared after a rainstorm in June 2006 and led to the damage of many houses. According to Chen, the fissure is related to the irregular ground subsidence from pumping out groundwater.

Chen noted that a vicious cycle is in place. Overuse of groundwater, frantic economic development, accompanying population growth and intensive agriculture are on a collision course on the waterways.

The ultimate result is deterioration of the ecological system. Three-fourths of the North China Plain's shallow groundwater wells cannot meet drinkability standards. Chen stressed that unscrupulous pursuit of economic development is an important factor for the present water crisis, not just the natural drought conditions. For example, the heavy chemical industry, requiring a large amount of water, should not have been established in any drought-ridden area.

Water resources are a bottleneck for development, so the fight for water has become more intense. In the first plenary meeting of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), 31 delegates from Hebei opposed the construction of the Wujiazhuang Reservoir in Shanxi on the Zhuozhang River which flows to Hebei Province. Delegates worried that the upstream reservoir will have a great impact on security of water supply of the downstream cities. Pushed forward by Shanxi Province for nearly half a century but never approved due to the stubborn objection of Hebei and Henan Provinces, the Ministry of Water Resources has since suspended the approval procedure for the WJZ.

Shanxi argues its water resources are sent to Hebei, but Shanxi hasn't ever received any compensation and that it is reasonable to retain part of its water resources for its own economic development. In turn Hebei is also disgruntled by the fact that it has transferred large quantities of water to Beijing and Tianjin for nothing.

The battle for water has gone on a long time and Provinces and cities on the North China Plain fight against each other for water resources through drafts and proposals to the annual NPC and China People's Political Consultation Conference (CPPCC) meetings.

The South-North Water Transfer Project, whose central line is scheduled to be completed in 2010, may alleviate the tension. Professor Liu Changmin, academician of China Academy of Science, told a reporter that 9.5 billion cubic meters of water will be transferred though the central line to relieve a drought. Beijing and Tianjin will experience an increase of 1.0 billion cubic meters of supply, acting to balance supply and demand. Hebei will get 3.4 billion cubic meters of water to alleviate groundwater usage.

The South-North Water Transfer Project cannot completely solve the water crisis of the North China Plain, which has been extremely thirsty for a long time. The water from Phase One can only meet the urban demand for water. Water for agricultural usage comprises 70 percent of the water demand of the North China Plain and will still be lacking under Phase One. Also, pollutants may be added into the flow on the long route to the already severely polluted North China.

Liu spoke frankly that the dry North China Plain cannot sustain a large population and complex agricultural system. However, China's grain self-sufficiency program allows for no decrease in the arable land in North China.

Under such circumstances, making irrigation more efficient is the only way out. Seventy percent of water can be saved if a more advanced technique of drip irrigation is adopted. However, ordinary Chinese peasants cannot afford the technology, so government investment is necessary.

Additionally, the planning and allocation of water resources of a single river should be concentrated in a single organization that will coordinate and plan the industrial, agricultural and urban water usage comprehensively.

Common practices overseas for ecological compensation mechanisms should be adopted in China. For example, downstream regions should compensate upstream regions for what they have invested in capital and maintenance. Trial practice of ecological compensation only exists intra-provincially at present. Inter-provincial compensation for all provinces along a given river is complex and faces great pressures from regional powers.

So, the resistance to reform is great. But the potential cost for maintaining the status-quo is unimaginable. The eco-system of North China is too fragile to wait for improvements another twenty years away.

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Waking Up to China's Water Crisis