Notes

First Sub-Topic (The Problem)
One of China's major problems is polluted water sources. The water is not safe for humans to consume because it is contaminated. This is mostly caused by disposing of urban wastewater, agricultural waste, and industrial chemicals into China’s water sources. Approximately 80% of China's cities have no water treating facilities. The water in those communities cannot be treated, and people are forced to use unsafe water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, and household items. Consumption and usage of this unclean water has many negative effects. Water pollution is blamed for the high rates of esophageal, liver, and stomach cancer. It is estimated that 100M people in China drink polluted water every day. Some natural water sources contains high levels of sulfates, arsenic, fluorine, human/animal waste, other factory chemicals, trash, and plastic products. It also gives off a very bad odour, and is sometimes covered with a layer of foam where fish and other living things cannot survive. This will certainly have a devastating impact on the health of the affected citizens. China has one fifth of the worlds population yet only holds 7% of the worlds freshwater. The country does not have enough freshwater to supply to their huge 1.4B people.

Third Sub-Topic (What steps is China taking to improve this problem?)
China has actively begun making serious changes and implementing laws to improve its water pollution crisis. Nationwide protests and international coverage of this problem puts pressure on China to take action against the dumping of factory waste and other pollutants in drinking and irrigation water sources. There are new environmental rules that prevent polluting factories from continuing to carelessly dispose harmful waste in the lakes, rivers, and oceans. The Chinese government has taken some action to protect the water supply of major cities. For example in its capital city Beijing, many new sewage treatment plants have been built. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, many polluting factories have been closed and there have been changes in agricultural practices. Local government officials have started refusing proposals and plans for building certain industrial companies near communities and their water supply. China has specifically included funding in their national budget for projects to clean up and improve the water supply. Even though China has funded many projects, environmentalists estimate that $300B is needed for anti pollution equipment alone. China’s wastewater problem will take ongoing and extended attention to completely resolve for the health and wellbeing of their future generations