China’s Water Sources –

River basins, surface & groundwater

China Background

Annual Rainfall
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River basins are the natural delimitations of water resources. Click on the map to get infos about China’s river basins.
Surface & Groundwater
Surface water accounts for 82% of China’s total water supply in 2016 while groundwater accounts for only 18%. However, due to an uneven distribution of water resources between the North and the South of China, the North is more reliant on groundwater than the South. Groundwater Depletion North South Divide
Dry 11 regions are especially reliant on groundwater than surface water with groundwater accounting for 28% of water supply compared to just 13% reliance for Safe 13 regions. Dry 11 Who’s Running Dry
Precipitation
6 out of China’s 9 main river basins receive less rainfall than South Sudan. China’s Water Challenges
Sources: China Water Risk report “No Water No Growth – Does Asia have enough water to growth?” 2018; State of Ecology and Environment Report 2017; China Water Risk article “What ‘Xi’s Thought’ Means For Water” 17 November, 2017; China Water Risk article “Pearl River Delta: 5 Water Must-Knows” 18 May, 2017; FAO Aquastat; TerraClimate; China Academy of Sciences; National Bureau of Statistics of China; ADM Capital Foundation and SynTao “Water in China”, Responsible Research, Issues for Responsible Investors 2010; World Bank; Lv FH et al. “Discussion on Flood Analysis and Flood Prevention Measures in Liaohe River Basin”, Water Conservancy Construction and Management, Issue 8, 2008
Notes: Precipitation level refer to annual averages between 2000 and 2017