Tai Hu (China): Water quality and processes - From the source to the tap

摘要

Water is essential for all life forms, but the quality of raw and drinking water is decreasing in many parts of the world. In particular, rapidly developing areas such as China are facing immense water problems due to anthropogenic impacts. On the one hand, the quality of raw water is often impaired due to rapid urbanization and industrialization as well as the increasing agricultural land use to cover the demand for food in the growing mega-cities (Bergmann et al., 2012; Brack et al., 2018; Dohmann et al., 2016; Paerl et al., 2016; Yu et al., 2013). Currently, China has the highest fertilizer application and the largest livestock industry worldwide (Bai et al., 2016; Peng, 2019), with a constantly increasing need for clean water (Bergmann et al., 2012). However, the available water resources per capita are naturally low, accounting for about only one quarter of the global average (China Meteorological Administration, 2012). Additionally, the water resources are unevenly distributed, with high water scarcity in the dry northern parts of the country (Xin and Stone, 2010).