The total water volume of the Yangtze River, China's longest, dropped by 12.3 percent in 2004, according to a report released Monday by the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee.

According to the report, which investigated the water resources of the Yangtze and other southwestern China rivers, the annual rainfall in the Yangtze River valley amounted to 1.85 trillion cubic meters, down 4.3 percent over the previous year. That volume of the southwestern China rivers was found to total 940.4 billion cubic meters, up 2.4 percent.

Despite the decrease in water volume, the water consumption of the Yangtze and southwestern China rivers climbed to 180.48 billion and 9.69 billion cubic meters, respectively.

At present the per capita water consumption of the Yangtze and southwestern China rivers is 416 and 493 cubic meters, respectively 22 and 12 cubic meters more than that of the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2005)