Mr. Sun Pingyi
Advisor
Weihai Environmental Protection Agency

Weihai is a rapidly developing city at the end of the Shandong Peninsula. With preferential national policies, it has grown rapidly from about 200,000 to over 600,000, and its income has grown at over 20 percent per year for the past two decades. Despite the rapid growth, the city has maintained strong environmental protection policies, winning both national and international awards for its high quality of life. With almost 1000 kilometers of coastline and extensive parks, it has become a popular tourist attraction. But it has a major problem: it is a water short city.

Weihai City (picture copyright: wehai.gov.cn)

The Shandong Peninsula is a water short area, with an annual rainfall of only 770 millimeters. The hilly topography means that the rains run easily into the sea, limiting aquifer charging.  The annual per capita water resource for the city is just 548 cubic meters, only a quarter of the overall Chinese average, which is itself only a quarter of the worldwide average. To punctuate the water shortage, the city faced a severe draught in 2000-2001. The rains finally came when there were only seven days’ water supply left in the city's reservoir. To deal with the water shortage, the city established a master plan with 6 major activities. 

1. Public awareness was increased through widespread educational campaigns, leading to highly conservative household water use.
2. Industrial policies were changed to eliminate high water consumption industries such as paper mills and ethanol factories. Now only low water using industries are permitted and those must engage in extensive water reuse.
3. Water use efficiency was increased by promoting water conservation devices in households and factories.
4. A new sewage treatment system was developed, now extended to over 80 percent of households and establishments, which increases the reuse of wastewater for irrigation.
5. A new market mechanism was put into place for water management, which increased the cost of water use. A progressive price scale was introduced; as more water is used the rate increases. This promotes conservation practices.
6. New sources of water have been developed. These include seawater desalination plants and reusing waste water through more extensive purification. There are also national plans to move water from the water rich south to the north, with some coming to the Shandong peninsula.

Water throughout China is still not potable at the tap. China has a long history of boiling water to drink hot or as tea, and this continues today.  Nonetheless, Weihai has shown that even severe water shortages need not be a break on social and economic development. The lessons the city derived from its on going work are three:

1. The importance of public participation
2. The effectiveness of using market mechanisms
3. Water quality can be improved, but it requires constant new development of technology and effective policies.