State of Water: Mainland vs. Hong Kong

State of Water: Mainland vs. Hong Kong – This year marks the 10th anniversary of China’s war on water pollution with its Water Ten Plan. So, this month we dive into key milestones in the decade-long journey to combat water pollution with local NGO’s IPE & Green Jiangnan, as well as provide the latest updates on freshwater & marine water quality from the newly released annual State of Ecology & Environment Report. Meanwhile, the HKU Water Centre uncovers “hidden losses” in Hong Kong’s water supply that’s sending billions of dollars down the drain every year.

China officially declared war on pollution in March 2014 – at that time, a government survey showed that 80.9% of people were “deeply concerned” about the overall environmental conditions in China. This was not surprising as government monitoring showed that close to 30% of key rivers were “unfit for human touch.”

Today, the 2024 State of Ecology & Environment Report finds that less than 8% of key rivers monitored are “unfit for human touch” (Grade IV+). China has been making incremental improvements in this area every year and this year, there is cause for celebration as national surface water quality (including key lakes & reservoirs) has surpassed 90% of Grade I-III water for the first time.

China continues to meet its 14FYP (2021-2025) targets on national surface water quality & overall surface water quality of its main river basins – both are well above the 85% Grade I-III water levels. But levels for each river still vary widely with 5 of the 7 key rivers coming in above the 85% target – the Yangtze River has the highest share of Grade I-III waters at 98.6% while the Songhua recorded the lowest at 76.9%. See our freshwater review for more.

The 14FYP target to reduce contaminated groundwater to below 25% also continues to be met with Grade V groundwater coming in at 22.1%. Although there are some ways to go compared to surface water, slow and steady increments can result in substantial gains over time.

Further challenges lie off the coast. China’s seawater quality saw a minor dip for the first time since 2018. However, the overall trajectory is upwards as “Excellent/Good” (Grade I-III) seawater quality has jumped by over 12% since 2018.

As for the 4 major seas, progress on controlling Grade IV+ water fluctuated significantly last year. The East China Sea continues to rank as the poorest quality out of the 4 major seas – nearly 20,000sqkm of its surface area is Grade IV+ water. Dive into our review on marine updates to learn more.

Although persistent gaps still remain, none of the improvements in water quality would have been possible without the “Water Pollution Prevention & Control Action Plan” a.k.a. the Water Ten. Launched in 2015 as China’s bold agenda to fight water pollution, the Water Ten has led to historic transformation in water quality within just 10 years. IPE & Green Jiangnan tell us how.

Did you know that China’s spending on water pollution control hit nearly RMB700bn between 2017-2022? Or that it expanded its national monitoring network almost four-fold to 3,000+ monitoring points since 2015? These efforts largely eliminated black and odorous water bodies in cities, as well as improved overall Grade I-III water quality by nearly 20%.

Adopting multi-stakeholder governance was key. By creating systems for public reporting through WeChat and requiring real-time emissions data disclosure from corporations, China has set a global example for large-scale pollution source disclosure. Learn more about China’s innovative models to engage public oversight in IPE & Green Jiangnan’s latest report.

In contrast to mainland China’s evolved water monitoring system, Hong Kong is far behind. According to HKU Water Centre’s Dr. Frederick Lee & Professor Kaimin Shih, Hong Kong’s metered water loss rate hit a record high of 38.3% – far overshooting China’s municipal water supply system’s water loss rate of below 9% by 2025.

This means that the HKSAR is losing a staggering HK$7.4 billion per year due to water losses! That’s almost a billion US dollars a year.

What’s even more concerning is that the Water Supplies Department only reports leakage rates from government mains, which offers a limited view of Hong Kong’s overall water loss situation. Lee & Shih unmask the bigger issue but say water losses can be reduced. They share 6 case studies & 3 lessons for Hong Kong.

There is a lot more to be done but a decade on, China is well on its way to a “Beautiful China” with “blue skies, green land and clear waters.” Staying on track is increasingly important as escalating climate risks will make it more difficult to ensure water quality and availability.

Hidden ice risks we’ve been talking about also surfaced dramatically in recent news. The Swiss glacier collapse in Blatten buried an entire village within seconds, while climate warming has shifted “ice-jam” sites to the lower reaches of the Yellow River, causing floods downstream. Not only are the communities living among glaciers at stake, but so are the billions of people around the world who rely on either the Alps or Himalayan water towers for their water supply.

“Every piece of glacier lost is a step toward greater threats to the future of humanity,” said Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon who hosted global leaders at the International Conference on Glaciers last month. While we are pleased to see global leaders adopt the Dushanbe Declaration to strengthen international action on saving disappearing glaciers, we worry that temperatures are rising faster than we can act.

Warming for the 12 months to May 2025 now stands at 1.57°C. Even more terrifying is WMO’s forecast that warming for the next 5 years will likely be 1.2-1.9°C. This is especially alarming when scientists are now saying 1.5°C is too hot for ice sheets, which are the largest single contributor to fast rising seas. Safe limits for ice are now understood to be 1°C or below.

Already, climate costs are piling high. Since 2000, Bloomberg says global spending on climate-related disasters have exceeded US$18.5trn. The US alone spent US$1trn in the last 12 months on disaster recovery and climate-related needs. Yet, President Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement on its 10th anniversary and plans to phase out FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

We must adapt to climate risks that are already baked-in but only drastic action to cut emissions can prevent further climate extremities, safeguard glaciers & ice sheets, protect crucial freshwater supplies, and stave off sea level rise. But, as we write this newsletter, we will likely see even more emissions as President Trump has just waded into another war in the Middle East.

Rising military emissions is the last thing we need. As it is, we will see food losses despite adaptation while massive fires wipe out our carbon sinks. We can only hold on to the hope that the world’s largest emitter – China – will remain committed to tackling climate change.

Fingers crossed that President Xi keeps his word given at the Leaders Meeting on Climate and the Just Transition: “However the world may change, China will not slow down its climate actions.”