The price of water in the lower reaches of the Yellow River will be raised as of December 1, the Yellow River Water Resources Committee announced Thursday.
Based on the latest price standard issued by the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC), water price for agricultural use between April and June will rise to 0.012 yuan per cubic meter from 0.00675 yuan. In the rest of the year, the price will be 0.01 yuan instead of 0.00507 yuan.
The price of water for industrial use and daily consumption will go up to 0.046 yuan per cubic meter from 0.0045 yuan between April and June. During other months, the price will be 0.039 yuan per cubic meter from 0.0025 yuan.
There have been consecutive years of seasonal drying-up of the river, which has set off an emergency alert to the nation. Experts attribute the seasonal drying-up of the river mainly to waste of water resources, destruction of the ecological environment, the exhaustion of water sources, and the global warming.
It is expected that the price hike would contribute to stop the wasting of water resources, experts said.
SDPC officials have asked local departments to prevent unreasonable charging and ensure people's legal rights and interests.
(Xinhua 12/01/2000)
