In the AP article, China to provide clean water for 60 mln in 2009, they quote state media that detail the plan to improve access to safe drinking water by 60 mn in 2009:
Currently, more than 200 million Chinese do not have access to safe drinking water, down from 379 million in late 2000, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing government data.
Rapid economic growth has severely curtailed the availability of clean water, as industry consumes a large share of the scarce resource while also being a major source of pollution.
The article, US$4.3b invested to provide ‘safe’ water, provides further details of the program:
The Chinese government spent approximately 29.5 billion yuan (4.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2008 to fortify dangerous reservoirs, provide rural residents with clean drinking water and to upgrade irrigating facilities
and by 2010:
6,240 dangerous reservoirs nationwide will be fortified, and 400 rural counties will be provided with electricity generated by local hydro power stations.
In reading these reports, there are a few questions need to be addressed before I am able to make any real judgments on this program or its ability to really improve the access to clean drinking water:
- By “safe” – what is the standard? What is the acceptable level of organic, non-organic particulate, metals allowed?
- What does the access mean? Is it at the municipal level, or will it be achieved through access to bottled/ locally purified water?
- If at the municipal level, does this release only cover the fact that city level water treatment facilities are being brought online, or is this also to include improved distribution systems as well
- What is the time duration of this program, and what resources will be required to maintain it?
Given China’s horrible water conditions (particularly in rural China), my guess is that this announcement is related to the fact that they will either be trucking in water from purification stations, or simply be setting up stands that improve access.
I base this conclusion on the fact that the announcement quotes 200mn without access, as from a municipal level it is clear that more than 75% of the country should not be drinking from the tap.