The capacity of Shenzhen’s reservoirs is only enough to meet residents’ demand for one and a half months, water experts have cautioned. Lack of capacity among the existing reservoirs could render the city helpless in an emergency or a severe drought of the sort which is raging across Southwest China, experts with the city’s water resources bureau said. Shenzhen is one of seven Chinese cities facing a critical lack of water resources with a per-capita water capacity of 175 cubic meters, less than 10 percent of the national average.
Public complaints regarding the waste of water in public buildings and the leisure industry are increasing. Members of the public have asked for heavy users to be charged higher water rates. At a public hearing on a water price hike in January, the Shenzhen Water Group put forward four proposals calling for a maximum increase of 37 percent per cubic meter for domestic water and 64 percent for industrial use. Most citizens supported the price hike, saying it would help improve people’s awareness of water conservation.
Source: Shenzhen Daily, 7 Apr 2010
