China faces water deficit

BEIJING - China will face a water supply deficit of up to 201 billion cubic meters in the next two decades if the country does not adopt proper water-saving technologies and practices, a report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has found.

Given the drastic growth in industrial and municipal water use, China's total water demand could reach 818 billion cu m by 2030, but the supply would stay at only 619 billion cu m, the report estimates.

But the country has enough solutions to close the gap, and most of them are affordable and profitable, said Martin Joerss, a partner at McKinsey & Company who led the study.