All the stats you need for China's big water problem

Today, our world is plagued by problems that are caused by man. People should be concerned with the environmental issues that are prevalent across the globe, issues that not only affect humans but animals and plants as well. Those environmental issues such as overpopulation, climate change, water pollution, loss of biodiversity are the harmful effects of human activity on the biophysical environment. The problems are common not only in third world but also second world countries such as China. China’s water pollution and water shortages are such a severe problem that the World Bank warns of “catastrophic consequences for future generations."

China is has many various environmental issues that leave the Chinese people more than concerned, especially their serious water pollution issue. China is not a water-rich land with their per-person water supply quite low. The water supply that is available has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Factories are able to freely discharge their wastewater into lakes and rivers due to poor environmental regulations, weak enforcement and local corruption. In China, there are 980 million people who drink water that is partly polluted every day. And from that population, there are 190 million that fall ill ever year.These are alarming trends with potentially serious consequences for human health. The harsh problem stems from their limited clean water resources. Across China, access to drinkable water is not just a quality of life issue, it’s about survival. With China’s rivers 29% polluted, lakes 40% polluted, and groundwater 61% polluted, the Chinese people struggle to survive daily. Every year, China’s worst possible outcome comes true with 60 000 Chinese people dying due to the severity of the water pollution. The main reason of China’s worst environmental issue comes from three different sources: household, agriculture, and industry. The cause of NH4 pollution mainly comes from the leading household’s 57% pollution, followed by agriculture’s 32% then industry’s 11% pollution. While the cause of COD pollution mainly comes from agriculture’s 48%, followed by household’s 38%, with industry’s 14% coming in last.

The water pollution in China is a big problem that should be dealt with. With almost half their population at risk of falling ill from drinking contaminated water, China should immediately act to clean up and improve their water supply. The evidence of their falling water supply should act as a wake-up call to the Chinese government to further be strict with their laws. The Chinese people should also play their part by not dumping their waste to the lakes and rivers. With the combined effort of the people and government, hopefully the issue may get resolved.