The underground water level in the southern parts of Jiangsu Province, one of the most-developed areas in the east, has risen for the first time in a dozen years, easing the severe shortage of surface water, Xinhua News agency reported.
The area encompasses the three industrial cities of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, home to thousands of rural and township industries.
In 2000, Suzhou reported a rise in the underground water level by seven to eight meters year-on-year, and in Changzhou, the water level rose by 10 meters.
Local experts, who are watching the underground changes through a simultaneous monitoring system, said that two-thirds of the 200 wells in the area have seen a resurgence.
Severe land-water shortages have occurred since the boom in local township factories, due to excessive water consumption, causing a drastic water-level fall.
Beginning in 1996, the province ran a campaign to lower the annual water consumption level to 320 million cubic meters by 2000.
The three cities have issued licenses for the use of 4,831 wells in the area and taken measures to limit water consumption.
(eastday.com 04/17/2001)
