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Urban Water Management in China: Organization,Information, and Decision Making
1 Water Environmental Problem in China
1.1 General water degradation problem In the past two decades, the contamination of water environment in China has been seriously intensified, due to the greatly increased demand for water resources, however without sufficient and efficient prevention and control measures. Relatively lower reserve capacity, uneven distribution in terms of time and space, rapid economic growth and utilization exert the major pressure on water environment in China. The water shortage in North China and water deterioration and flood in South China are major factors limiting the economic and social development in China.
In 1998, 39.5 billion tons of wastewater was discharged, 5.0% lower than 1997. The total amount of COD discharged was 14.96 million tons, 14.7% less than 1997. Among all kinds of wastewater, the municipal sewage and its COD contribution accounted for 49.1% and 46.2% of the gross amount respectively. Although the share of sewage wastewater increased gradually, Only 2 billion tons of sewage was discharged after treatment in 1998, accounting for 10% of the total sewage effluent.1 Except for some inland rivers and few water systems, the pollution of water tended to be worsening on the whole. The 78% of the urban river reaches are not suitable for drinking, and 50% of the underground water in cities is contaminated to some extent. 2
1.2 Urbanisation in China The water deterioration in urban area is largely caused by economic development and urbanization. By the end of 1999, there were 668 cities in China. The urban population reached 375.9 million and the urban area reached 812,817.6 km2. The population density in urban areas was 462 people/km2, 3 people higher than the previous year. The urban population increased 25% since 1990 (301.9 million), and the urbanization ratio rose from 26.4% in 1990 to 30.9% in 1999.3 我要提问
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