Inside China Today

Experts fear water scarcity attributed to socio-economic collapse in Dongguan

Dongguan City of Guangdong Province is a place occupied by many Taiwan-funded enterprises alongside the Pearl River Delta, but in addition to the current power shortages in the area, a water crisis also looms. Experts have even said that the water crisis could lead to social and economic collapse in Dongguan. “Nanfang Urban Press” reported on twenty first of July that experts in the Mainland Ministry of Water Resources openly warned that if the water usage is not restricted in Dongguan, the local economy might fall.
The report said the “Dongguan water-saving infrastructure forum” was held in Dongguan last Friday, when Deputy Inspector Chen Xiao-Jun of Water Resources Management Division of the Ministry said at the meeting that water consumption in Dongguan last year reached two point two billion cubic metres, way beyond the water supply.

A calculation based on water consumption level of two thousand and four, urban water supply could only be guaranteed by eighty six percent of the consumption.
According to statistics, one quarter of the loss of Dongguan City water resources attributed to environmental pollution. At present, over ninety percent of water supply come from the Dong River. The total sewage discharge in Dongguan accounts for ten percent of the entire provincial waste discharge with the water resources being substantially damaged.

Chen Xiao-Jun pointed out that if the Dong River is not protected, they could encounter something similar to the salt tide in two thousand and three, or in nineteen sixty three when ninety seven percent of area’s water resources dried up. If this occurs, it could lead to social and economic collapse in Dongguan.