Nearly all Chinese city dwellers are concerned about the country’s issues with water supply and pollution according to a poll by water technology firm, Xylem in partnership with China Water Net.
The online poll of 2,360 people including 159 “water industry experts” found that 96% of those quizzed marked China’s water problems as “serious.” And 56% of respondents described them as “very serious” as did 82% of the experts. Urgent action was important according to 99% of respondents while 81% – including 91% of the sector experts – saw the need to address and solve water issues as very important.
The poll sought “to gauge awareness, level of concern, and understanding of specific issues pertaining to water and water infrastructure in China,” said Xylem, adding: “The research also aims to understand the impact that learning more about water issues has on citizens’ willingness to take actions and to pay more to address these issues.” However only 44% of city residents said that they needed to learn more about how they might better conserve water.
For 59% of urban consumers “serious surface and ground water pollution due to industrial discharge is the most serious water issue in China,” while 64% of experts held the same view.
The agricultural sector is China’s largest consumer of water yet most respondents believed that the industrial sector used the most water And few of those polled knew that 82% of wastewater is treated in urban areas.