Haihe River valley under drought threat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 02, 2003

Haihe River valley under drought threat

Some sections of the Haihe River in north China have dried up due to a seven-year dry spell, menacing the lives and economic growth in the river valley.

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Some sections of the Haihe River in north China have dried up due to a seven-year dry spell, menacing the lives and economic growth in the river valley.

Covering an area of 318,000 square kilometers, the Haihe River valley includes Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, Hebei, Shandong and Shanxi provinces and Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

An official with the Hebei provincial water resources bureau said the province recorded 202-mm rainfall in July and August this year, 32 percent less than that for the same period in normal years.

Compared with last year's same period, the shallow groundwater level dropped by 0.57 meters in July and August this year, and deep groundwater level dropped by 0.99 meters.

In some areas, locals face drinking water shortage, experts warned. They urged water-saving measures to be taken to shun a water crisis.

Currently, the per capita water resources in the river valley is only 305 cubic meters, or 61 percent of the international standard for extreme water shortage, said Wei Zhimin, a noted expert of water resources in Hebei province.

Historical records show that the region was hit by protracted dry spells between 1637 and 1643.

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