Water supply China

Question 1

percentage of worlds freshwater in china

Answer 1

7%

Question 2

SE of china

Answer 2

heavy rainfall

Question 3

north of china

Answer 3

• suffers from droughts
• less rainfall
• industrialised cities are in the north

Question 4

causes increasing demand of water

Answer 4

• Rising middle class = larger water footprint
• meat consumption has increased by 150%.
• ‘Factory of the world’ –needs energy to power factories, which requires a lot of water for cooling.

Question 5

problems from increased demand in water

Answer 5

• Industrial pollution – waste water grew 50% 2000-2015.
• Cancer villages
• Costs for the government – in 2017 government spent $100billion on 8,000 clean up projects.
• possible unemployment
• lower agricultural production
• higher food costs

Question 6

solutions to clean water

Answer 6

• Water Pollution Prevention Control Action Plan
• 5 year plan – to restrict farming near major rivers to cut pollution. May find it difficult to enforce.
• in 2001 44% of waterways were unusable, by 2018 only 7% are unusable
  sponge cities

Question 7

Water Pollution Prevention Control Action Plan

Answer 7

Government launched
A system of ‘river & lake chiefs’ that is local officers responsible for addressing pollution issues in their area.

Question 8

sponge cities

Answer 8

• 80% of the city area must capture and reuse rainwater
• Has been expended to 31 cities

Question 9

south to north water project

Answer 9

• Aims to transfer water from the River Yangzi in the south to the dry industrial north.
• Largest water diversion scheme in the world.
• The central route moves water from the massive reservoir in central China 1,400km to Beijing via a vast channel
• Eastern and Central route have a capacity to transfer 25 billion tonnes of water a year
• western remains in the planning phase.

Question 10

social and economic benefits of south to north water project

Answer 10

• employment opportunities
• better transportation network and facilities
• expanding irrigation schemes, electricity and aquaculture
• recreational fishing and tourism industries
• controlling floodhazards

Question 11

capacity of south to north project

Answer 11

25 billion tonnes of water a year

Question 12

length of central route

Answer 12

1400 km

Question 13

3 gorges dam advantages

Answer 13

• Regulates river flow & can be used to prevent flooding
• Generation of cheap renewable energy – 10% of the China’s electricity.
• Provides water for a wide variety of uses.
• Create jobs during construction phase.
• Makes transport easier.
• Boost tourism along the river.

Question 14

3 gorges dam disadvantages

Answer 14

• Gorge flooded – farmland lost.
• Habitats affected as river is now deeper & cooler
• Expensive $29 billion

Question 15

advantages of south to north project

Answer 15

• directly benefits more than 140 million people and over 40 cities
• helps in ecological restoration of rivers and lakes in the north

Question 16

cancer villages

Answer 16

badly affected by water pollution & just living nearby these rivers increases the rate of cancer.