It is worrying that the Yangtze, China's longest river, disrupts the lives of people living along its middle and lower reaches nearly every flood season.

But it is more worrying that many cities along this big river, which accounts for 36 percent of the country's water resources, are short of water. According to the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, some 59 cities alongside the river are suffering from a shortage of water, 26 of them seriously.

Inefficient use of water is the main cause of the shortage. Some places still use the old "flood irrigation" system to ditch water to the fields, which is extremely wasteful. In many factories, less than 40 percent of water is recycled.

Many cities' heavy discharge of waste into the river has further reduced the amount of clean water.

There is no leeway for the waste of water in a country with over 1.2 billion people and only one fourth of the world's average per capita water resources.

The shortage of water in these cities, in contrast to the rolling waves of the Yangtze River, is ironic as well as alarming to the country's water management officials.

In past decades, China has made astronomical investments in water conservancy projects all over the country, to combat floods and provide people with sufficient water.

Now the government is also undertaking a grand project to divert some of the abundant water of the southern provinces to the arid northern regions via canals and pumping stations.

However, these efforts are mainly aimed at tapping new sources of water but do nothing to conserve current water resources.

If the uncurbed use of water is not stopped, it will lead to deterioration of the environment and the depletion of the country's water resources.

As the economy continues to grow at a very rapid rate, it is increasingly important to introduce efficient ways of using water to be able to meet the increasing need for water.

It is worthy of note that China's Law on Water Resources has been revised recently and will come into effect next month, with elaborate rules to protect water resources and support sustainable development.

Hopefully rising awareness of the need to carefully husband the use of water resources will eventually bring a balance between people's needs and the finite supply of this precious and crucial element.

(China Daily September 3, 2002)