Water has been pumped from a canal to a waterway to ease the drought and ensure the harvest since August 18, 2022 in Ma'anshan, East China's Anhui Province as Chinese provinces and regions are battling prolonged heat waves. Photo: VCG

Leqing city in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province will launch citywide emergency restrictions on water supply from Tuesday as the city has suffered a drought for months since summer.  

The local flood and drought control headquarters in Leqing issued a notice on Sunday, announcing the citywide emergency restrictions on water supply starting Tuesday by providing water supplies every other day by turns in different zones. 

According to the notice, rainfall in Leqing and its surrounding areas has been much less than in previous years which has led to a worsened drought.  

Water supplies to sauna services, public bathrooms, swimming pools, car wash services and other industries will be suspended. Besides, water supplies will be restricted for enterprises with high water consumption such as hotels, electroplating businesses and construction companies.  

Moreover, tap water supply must not be used in landscaping and road sanitation and drawing water from reservoirs will be banned.  

According to the notice, Leqing has been suffering sustained heat waves with little rain since summer. Water supply to Leqing from Nanxi River was affected due to insufficient natural water resources. The city launched a level-IV emergency response to battle the drought on September 30. As of October 13, the city's major water supply reservoir had only 18.9 million cubic meters for water storage, which could only secure 55 days of water supply, according to a notice from the official WeChat account of the local water supply authority. 

Since there is a large gap between water supply and the arrival of the effective rainfall period, water supply to different areas of the city will be provided in turns if necessary. 

Affected by extreme heat, Yongjia county in Wenzhou has also been suffering from continuous drought since summer. Between July 1 and September 28, rainfall in Yongjia amounted to 214.8 millimeters, 77.8 percent less compared with the same period in previous years. It is expected that precipitation across the county from October to December will be less than in previous years.  

The county launched a level-IV emergency warning for water supply at 5 pm on September 28 and implemented water supply controls for industries including construction, car wash services, entertainment and public bathrooms in some areas. 

Meanwhile, the county provided water supply with lower pressure to local residents with limited hours and limited quantities.  

The local meteorological department also took advantage of the favorable weather conditions to carry out multiple rounds of precipitation enhancement by firing cloud-seeding rockets on September 27, which slightly eased the drought in parts of Yongjia county.  

Cities and counties including Wenzhou, Leqing and Ruian cities and Pingyang and Yongjia counties all issued yellow alerts for drought last Friday evening, forecasting no precipitation in the coming week. The comprehensive drought situation will reach severe or extreme levels, The Paper reported on Monday. 

A persistent heat wave affected a vast range of area across China this summer with most parts of the Yangtze River Basin sustaining high temperatures and severe drought, with rainfall dropping by 4.5 percent compared to the same period in previous years. 

Hu Jianwei, chief hydrological forecaster for the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the precipitation and water inflow in the Yangtze River valley is expected to remain low and the drought will continue, but with the arrival of autumn rain in western China, the drought situation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will ease, according to a CCTV report. 

Global Times