North China drought highlights need for water diversion scheme - AFP

Source: Agence France-Presse

North China drought highlights need for water diversion scheme

by Robert J. Saiget
Sun Jun 17, 10:46 PM ET

MENTOUGOU, China (AFP) - A rare forest fire on the outskirts
of Beijing has renewed concerns about the capital's crippling
water shortages as an enduring drought deepens and
temperatures hit record highs.

-snip-

The blaze occurred only several kilometres (miles) from the dry
bed of a major tributary to Beijing's Yongding river, which has
itself been reduced to a trickle as it descends from the nearly
empty Guanting reservoir, a major supplier of water to the
capital.

-snip-

Zhang blames the building of reservoirs upstream, but more
importantly global warming and a lack of rainfall.

-snip-

Beijing authorities have been long aware of the capital's water
shortage problem and in 2001 a massive water diversion project
was approved to haul water from the Yangzte river in the south
to the arid north.

Despite widespread concerns over the cost and environmental
impact, the project was approved largely due to the dire need
to maintain supplies for the capital's 15 million residents.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070618/sc_afp/chinaenvironmentclimatewater_070618024648

They've destroyed all of their northern grasslands, and this in turn has all turned to desert. Their water tables are falling, and what's left is so polluted, the residents have to resort to bottled water. What's going to happen when the Yangtze starts to run dry? Oh,yeah, I forgot, * has sold us and our manugacturing out, and they own so much of our debt, about the only thing we can export to China of any value will be water...