China Cracks Down On Water Polluters

Notorious for its terrible water quality, China is cracking down on polluters after years of promises that environmental oversight will improve.

A document released in April laid out a strategy for fighting water pollution. The document lists "a series of government initiatives aimed at improving the country's air and water quality," TeleSur reported. One proposed strategy is to decrease tariffs on water treatment plant equipment.

Regulators also "ordered the closure of small plants in 10 dirty industries and a clampdown on the tapping of underground water sources in a renewed effort to tackle contamination," the Financial Times reported. "Industries ordered shut include fertilizer and coking plants, small tanneries, paper mills and oil refineries," according to the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

The plan, released by the State Council, China’s cabinet, aims for major reductions in water pollution by 2020. quot;It aims to ensure that at least 70% of the water quality of major river basins reaches Grade 3 on a five-point scale--considered good enough to use as drinking water. The plan also aims to make 93% of water supply for China’s several hundred largest cities reach the same level of quality," the Wall Street Journal reported.

“At present, water quality in some regions of our country is poor, the water ecology has been damaged severely and hidden dangers of environmental problems are prominent,” the government document said.

More than ever before, Chinese officials have a political incentive to improve environmental oversight. "Pollution is becoming a political liability for the ruling Communist party as citizens become more aware of the extent of the damage done to the country’s air, rivers and soil," the Financial Times reported.

Water problems in China are so severe that they have dramatic consequences on public health. "The government in 2013 acknowledged the existence of rural 'cancer villages'—with high rates of cancer—that cluster along areas with wells contaminated by industry and agriculture. Pollution is also exacerbating chronic water shortages in the arid northern part of the country," the Wall Street Journal reported.

By its own estimations, China is already making headway in the fight against water pollution.

"The Chinese government has claimed it has made big strides to exceed its 2014 targets for cutting water pollution. It is still in the process, however, of overcoming a decades-old lack of environmental oversight," Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster, reported.