Some areas in and around the city of Zunyi in southwest China's
Guizhou Province are facing water rationing
after receiving lesser rainfall in recent months.
Almost half a million people and more than 300,000 livestock,
have been affected by the drought that began last summer.
The Guizhou Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters said that parts of Zunyi City had been suffering
unusually high temperatures and low precipitation since last
winter.
In January and February, temperatures in the province were about
three to six degrees Celsius higher than average. In recent months,
the counties of Renhuai, Wuchuan and Tongzi received rainfall 10
percent to 30 percent less than their average amount in normal
years.
Residents of Huaqiu Town of Tongzi County have had their supply
of running water restricted to just one hour a day. Running water
in districts of the Wuchuan County lasts for four hours a day.
Water reserves in Zunyi are also running dangerously low. By
March 30, the city's water conservation facilities had stores of
171 million cubic meters of water, about 42 percent of the normal
amount.
Flood control and drought relief headquarters of Zunyi have
temporarily suspended production businesses that consume a lot of
water. The headquarters is also raising funds for the construction
of emergency water reservoirs and repairing the existing pipelines
to prevent water loss.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2007)