New statistics reported by the Chinese media on Monday claim that over 80% of water used by underground wells for farms, factories, and households is unfit for drinking or bathing. The contamination likely comes from industries or farms in the surrounding area and is more prevalent in rural areas.
According to the New York Times, “The latest study found that 32.9 percent of wells tested had Grade 4 quality water, which meant that it was fit only for industrial uses, National Business Daily said. An additional 47.3 percent of wells were even worse, Grade 5. The contaminants included manganese, fluoride and triazoles, a set of compounds used in fungicides. In some areas, there was pollution caused by heavy metals.”
A farmer working near a polluted waterway near Shanghai.
The study included 2,103 underground wells in small villages and towns around China’s countryside. Larger cities in China draw their water from much deeper sources, thus were not tested.
Pollution in China is no secret; last year there were days in Beijing with smog and air pollution over 10 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. However, many are still unaware of the effect water pollution is having on the country.
“People in the cities, they see air pollution every day, so it creates huge pressure from the public. But in the cities, people don’t see how bad the water pollution is,” said Professor Dabo Guan at the University of East Anglia in Britain, who has been studying water pollution and scarcity in China. “They don’t have the same sense . . . These latest statistics are an indicator of how bad the underground water quality is,” Guan said. “The sources of pollution are so widespread and include a lot of agriculture. I think that would be the main source of pollution.”