Issue
Access to clean water is a basic right guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and one of the principal goals of the Chinese government. Currently, approximately 50 million people in China's rural areas and Western regions have limited access to safe drinking water. Here, “access” is defined as 20 liters per person per day from a source within one kilometer of one's home. Such sources can include water piped into the household, a public standpipe, a protected well or spring, or a rainwater collection system. To meet the huge demand for improved access to clean water, the Chinese Government has responded with numerous water supply projects. These projects, as well as China's existing drinking water infrastructure, have been and continue to be built with insufficient attention to long-term maintenance and operational costs. One strategy long advocated by UNICEF is to integrate local governments and communities (users of the service) into every stage of water supply projects—from design and construction to management and maintenance. In this way, overall start-up costs are reduced and system longevity is improved. Water quality is also a major problem in China. Water may be readily available but unfit for consumption because of human activities (such as mining or industry) or naturally occurring contaminants (such as arsenic and fluoride). Large portions of China's water supply are contaminated by arsenic, a toxic substance distributed widely throughout the earth's crust. Arsenic seeps into underground aquifers, fouling the water supply and causing arsenic poisoning. First detected in China in the 1950s, arsenic poisoning occurs after long-term exposure. Symptoms vary widely, making it difficult to diagnose, but the consequences are serious. They include cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder, and kidney, as well as skin lesions and changes in pigmentation. As industrialization and agriculture increase China's demand for water, wells are being drilled deeper and now frequently tap into arsenic-rich aquifers. As a consequence, arsenic poisoning is rising. To date there have been more than 30,000 cases reported with about 25 million people exposed to dangerously high levels in their drinking water. Similarly, significant health problems are being caused by high concentrations of fluoride in drinking water, leading to endemic dental and skeletal fluorosis, a weakening of the teeth and bones. Contamination of drinking water from feces is another critical health problem that causes serious illnesses such as diarrhea and viral hepatitis. A recent survey by UNICEF in the 11 provinces found that over half of all drinking water samples contained unacceptably high levels of bacteria. VISIT the MDG Water and Sanitation Website
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