China is facing a groundwater crises that is only getting worse. Back in 2006, a third of China’s water resources came from groundwater, and cities and farms in the arid north have no other option but to rely on underground water.
Groundwater has been monitored in China since the early 1950s. A network of 23,800 monitoring wells was established, as were groundwater monitoring and research institutes. The wells are used to monitor the quality of the groundwater.
China needs to revise its system because the resources are coming under strain, not only from the ever increasing demand for water, but from pollution. Almost 55% of groundwater was polluted in 2011. Some of that groundwater was so heavily polluted, that it required intensive processing before it could be used.
This crisis is worsening year on year as a result of industrial, domestic and agricultural pollution. 59.6% of groundwater was polluted by 2013. Monitoring water quality must be an important part of the process to ensure that it is potable.
According to an official at the Ministry of Land and Resources, China is thinking about amending its 20 year old groundwater standards and will be launching a new network to monitor water quality within the next three years. Experts have said existing standards fail to cover some of the key pollutants. Some of which are becoming more common, for example organic chemicals from petrochemical industries.
China published a ten year plan in 2011. The plan is to tackle groundwater pollution. The target has since become extended by another three years. According to experts, this is due to a dispute over regulatory responsibility among three relevant ministries. Deputy head at the China Institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring, Zhang Zuochen, said a revision to the existing standards for groundwater quality has been drafted.
Why not have a look at the Water Quality Testing page on our website to see the various aspects that are monitored? You can also see the different types of water testing systems that we manufacture.