世界水日:中国的水问题

For Beijing resident Zhang Huihui tap water is for washing dishes and watering her plants, but not for drinking.

"I only drink bottled water in Beijing because the city’s pollution, to some extent, is worsening. I think bottled water is better than tap water," Zhang said.

As the international community celebrates World Water Day, Zhang’s situation highlights the serious concerns over China’s drinking water.

Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, Ma Jun, says one of the biggest threats to the country’s clean drinking water is polluted groundwater.

"According to statistics, more than 60% of Chinese cities depend on groundwater for their water supply and the percentage is much higher in the northern part of China. If the groundwater becomes contaminated, a large part of the population will be exposed to contaminated drinking water sources," said Ma Jun, Director of teh Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.

According to a recent report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, more than half the water tested in China’s wells throughout 200 major cities was poor or very poor quality. Experts say one of the main causes is industrial waste from factories.

The issue is creating a firestorm amongst the country’s netizens who are posting pictures of groundwater pollution in their hometowns and serving as watchdogs for factories that illegally pump hazardous waste underground.

It’s an issue the government is working to tackle as well.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Wu Xiaoqing, said, "the government will focus on monitoring the pollution released by state owned companies. The information will be made public to increase transparency. The Ministry's work will also be open to the public.

But Ma says stopping groundwater contamination requires harsher prosecution of polluters.

As Ma Jun pointed out, "The real barrier is the difficulties in environmental legal enforcement. We have copied the laws and policies of western countries, but the enforcement is weak. The environmental lawsuit is still not quite accepted by the court."