Millions of people in northern China face summer water shortages with the Yellow River reaching its lowest levels in 50 years, Chinese officials said yesterday in an annual report on the country's environment.

The report also warned that pollution in China compounded water problems, with more than half the watersheds in the country's seven main rivers contaminated by industrial, farm and household waste.

"China is a country that lacks water resources, and the problem of water pollution remains severe," said Xie Zhenhua, head of the State Environmental Protection Administration.  "This year our top priority is to ensure clean drinking water for our people."

China's expanding industry and 1.3 billion people have overburdened the country's water and sewage systems and led to poor air quality in urban areas. 

Government officials predict an annual water shortfall of 53 trillion gallons by 2030, more water than China now uses annually (Associated Press/New York Times, June 6).

Xie also said the Yellow River and the Yangtze, China's two largest rivers, face unprecedented pollution crises, with increases in pollution and lower water levels related to the Three Gorges Dam project taking a heavy toll on water quality.

"There is a strong possibility that the water quality will worsen in the (Three Gorges) reservoir," Xie said.  Water levels behind the newly closed dam are expected to rise 135 meters by June 15, creating a reservoir stretching hundreds of miles where pollution that would normally flow downstream will instead stagnate.

China is spending $2.4 billion to curb pollution in the Three Gorges reservoir and is building a series of water treatment plants.

"Sixty percent of the factories in the cities around the reservoir will have water treatment plants by the end of June, while 100 percent will have them by the end of 2003," Xie said.  Xie acknowledged, however, that water quality will likely worsen before the treatment plants begin operating, potentially affecting the 30 million people who live in the area.

According to the report, water quality at 41 percent of the monitoring stations in China failed to meet the lowest standards (Agence France-Presse, June 5).