China’s Water Challenges Call for Innovative Solutions

The 2016 China Water Resources Report recently released by the Ministry of Water Resources shows significant improvement in the state of China’s water resources. This includes a decline in water consumption, higher efficiency and continuous optimization in relation to water usage as compared to previous years. As China embarks on its 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2020), the commitment to environmental issues, especially water issues, appears stronger than ever. Numerous water-focused policies have been released over the past few months. The revised “Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law”, following the well-known “Water Ten Plan (Water Pollution Prevention & Control Action Plan)” has recently been approved by the National People’s Congress and will go into effect as of January 1, 2018. Overall, the new law strengthens government responsibility and supervision, addressing water pollution prevention and control, as well as strengthening punishment and fines for pollutants.
“We are glad to see China’s firm commitment and continuous efforts in promoting environmental protection. There’s been a significant improvement in several water-related issues since the release of the ‘Water Ten Plan’, although much more needs to be done, as China is still facing water pollution, water scarcity, groundwater deterioration and other serious related threats. Meanwhile, rapid industrialization and urbanization, as well as the effect of climate change also underline the importance of effective water usage,” said Tim Wang, Ecolab Executive Vice President and President Greater China.
According to a report issued by 2030 Water Resources Group, China’s industrial water consumption is expected to far outpace agricultural and municipal water usage between 2005 and 2030, amounting to 56% of total water usage, surpassing other Asian countries by 18% and the U.S. by 19%. This, compounded by severe pollution, will result in a water deficit of 199 billion tons by 2030. The 2016 China Water Report, recently published by Carbon Disclosure Program (CDP), highlights that the water deficit will cost China as much as US$35 billion annually. To mitigate China’s challenges in water resources, industrial water usage must be addressed.
As a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, Ecolab is committed to improving water efficiency and reducing the water footprint of enterprises across the entire production cycle. In 2016, Ecolab assisted customers from over 40 industries, in partnership with more than one million customer locations around the world, conserve more than 610 million tons of water, equivalent to the required water consumption for 558 million people over one year. By 2030, Ecolab expects to save 1.1 billion tons of water per year by reducing water usage both for its operations and their customers.
Greater China region is important to Ecolab. Over the past more than 40 years, Ecolab has been devoted to assisting China to achieve sustainable development with its advanced solutions. Over the past few years, Ecolab has enhanced its capabilities in water management through several mergers and acquisitions.