'Will China run out of water?' Zheng asks

In an address to students yesterday, Chunmiao Zheng posed China's milion-dollar question - how do you supply 20 percent of the world's population with only 7 percent of the Earth's water resources?

Yesterday afternoon at the Carolyn Hoff Lynch Auditorium, Zheng, professor of hydrogeology at the University of Alabama, explored the issue of China's mounting water scarcity in a talk entitled, "Will China Run Out of Water?"

His final answer: Not likely for the country as a whole, he said, although he added that certain regions were more vulnerable to distress than others.

The economic growth in China is unprecedented, Zheng said. It is estimated that China's economy will overtake the United States' in terms of sheer size by 2050.

But such growth has led to water shortages and worsening pollution. By 2030, Zheng predicted, China's water use will approach the total volume of exploitable water resources.

Zheng added that this water shortage will temper the current economic growth.

Other potential problems include land subsidence, environmental degradation and seawater intrusion - the process by which fresh water stores are contaminated by seawater.

"Water right now is a huge interest for [the Institute for Environmental Studies]," explained Yvette Bordeaux, IES director.

One solution the Chinese government is implementing is the South-North Water Transfer Project, a plan to divert water sources in southern parts of China to areas such as the North China Plain, where water is especially scarce.

However, Zheng pointed out that this might have a larger social impact, potentially displacing a large number of residents.

Youkyeong Lee, who is pursuing a Master of Environmental Studies, said she was surprised the audience "didn't raise many litigation problems."

Zheng did receive a number of laughs as he explained the unilateral mode of decision-making in the Chinese government. "If the government order[s] it, it's done," he said.

Specialists in Zheng's field, representing organizations from the National Academy of Sciences to the U.S. Geological Survey, showed up for the lecture.

In response to China's water situation, Arlene Mand, IES administrative coordinator, replied, "The world is watching."

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