Ground water quality in north China continues to deteriorate: expert

The quality of ground water in north China will continue to deteriorate in the future, said a Chinese expert on Monday at the 34th Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH).

Chinese hydrogeologist, Zhang Zonghu, made the prediction based on data collected over the past decade, adding that overall the quality of the country's ground water is relatively good.

Zhang told the congress, which kicked off in Beijing on Monday, that the deteriorating quality of ground water is a complicated issue.

The latest revaluation found that there are 70 million people in the country drinking ground water that is not up to required standards. As a result, people are plagued by epidemic diseases.

China's water supply has not kept up with demand even though the use of ground water has increased from 57.2 billion cubic meters a year in the 1970s to 105.8 billion cubic meters in 1999.

Currently, China consumes 2.8 trillion cubic meters of water each year, one-third of which comes from the ground.

Participants to the congress urged China to conserve water resources, better utilize ground water and protect water resources from contamination.

Efforts should also be made to control excessive exploration of ground water and strengthen the monitoring of ground water.

The five-day congress was organized by the IAH and the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Source: Xinhua