China will tighten pollution controls over the next five years in order to provide safe drinking water to its poor, populous countryside, a top official said Sunday, following a string of accidents that have poisoned water supplies, according to AP. «Handling water challenges properly is not only strategically important to China's modernization drive, but will also contribute to global sustainable development,» said Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan at the opening of the World Water Congress, a gathering of some 3,000 officials and experts from around the world. «The Chinese government pays great attention to water conservation and protection, regarding it as a priority,» Zeng said. The government also plans to step up conservation, making water-saving technologies mandatory and pushing for more use of recycled water, the vice premier said. The five-day water congress is to focus on water management and environmental and health challenges, an include an exhibition of new water and sewage technologies. The event is organized by the London-based International Water Association and China's Ministry of Construction. Beijing considers ensuring safe water supplies as the most pressing environmental issue facing a country where a population of 1.3 billion people compete for supplies with booming industries. Last month, China said it will spend 1 trillion yuan ($125 billion, ¤1 billion) to improve water treatment and recycling by 2010 to fight the mounting threat of urban water pollution. Chinese leaders say the country faces a critical water shortage due to chronic pollution and chemical accidents. The government says some 340 million people _ most in poor rural areas _ lack access to water deemed clean enough to drink. This summer, parts of central China have been suffering from the most severe drought in 50 years. Authorities say lack of rain has left 18 million people without adequate drinking water. China also has struggled with a series of accidents that have polluted water supplies, sometimes forcing cities to temporarily shut down running water to hundreds of thousands of people. China should put more emphasis on water conservation and management, as well as stepping up controls on industrial pollution, Zeng said. «In next five years, we will devote more efforts to tackle this problem,» he said. «The substandard quality of drinking water exemplified by high levels of fluorine and arsenic, brackish taste and water pollution have been targeted.» Most of China's canals, rivers and lakes are polluted and only about one-third of the 3.7 billion tons (3.3 billion metric tons) of sewage discharged by China's huge cities each year is treated. Attention to the problem has been heightened by a string of industrial accidents that poisoned major rivers, forcing several cities to shut down their water systems and residents to rely on supplies from other cities or underground wells. Zeng said «special attention should be paid to the prevention of water-related accidents.» «The potential environment risks in such enterprises such as chemical plants and mining sites should be checked and eliminated on a more frequent basis,» he said. Zeng suggested the government is considering pricing reform including a water tariff system to reflect «the degree of scarcity of water resources and the total cost of using water.» He also said China will encourage foreign investment in its water industry but did not elaborate. Water companies from France, England, and Germany already have invested in China's water supply and treatment projects.
