Businesses in China have not been asked to give the public information about their discharges of toxic substances. That too has contributed to the harm done by the pollution emergencies, he said.

"The central government needs to urge its branches at all levels to strengthen their daily monitoring of water," he said. "Also, the punishments meted out to individuals and companies responsible for the pollution should be stricter."

So far, 320 million rural residents in China do not have access to safe drinking water. Among them, 190 million use drinking water that contains excessive levels of hazardous substances, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.