Coal is changing the waterscape in China

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Sometime ago I had posted a link to an article titled 'No Water, No Power' which some of you liked and found useful. Here is the follow-up article from China Water Risk.

It takes "Up to 24 bathtubs of water to extract & produce 1 tonne of washed coal" but"53% of ensured coal reserves lie in regions with similar water to the Middle East".

To know more read the article @http://chinawaterrisk.org/resources/analysis-reviews/water-for-coal-thirsty-miners-feel-the-pain/

2 Answers

  1. Hi Sophie, do excuse the delay in this response. To answer your question 'does China have that much water?'. I'd say the answer is both a yes and a no. Yes because it is one of the few countries with the highest renewable water resources (the others are Brazil, Russia, USA and Indonesia) See this infographic http://www.waterfootprint.org/downloads/2010-US-Infrastructure.png. No because of the opportunity cost involved in allocating water resources. There is no escaping the fact that sooner or later, the country is going to have to face tough choices with regard to water resources, much like the rest of the world.

  2. Kiran, I read some where that currently, more than half of China's industrial water usage is in coal-related sectors, including mining, preparation, power generation, coke production and coal-to-chemical factories. According to China Water Risk, a nonprofit initiative based in Hong Kong. That means that the water demand of the Chinese coal industry surpasses that of all other industries combined. But does China has that much water?