Groundwater gets worse, land agency says

BEIJING - More than half of the groundwater monitored in the country's major cities failed to meet standards for drinking, a report by the country's land watchdog said.

Groundwater at 57.2 percent of the 4,110 monitoring stations in 182 cities was classified as bad, meaning people's health could be harmed, according to a Ministry of Land and Resources report released on Wednesday.

The quality of groundwater in most northern and eastern parts of China was worse last year than in 2009, the report said, without stating locations. The level of groundwater had also dropped as a result of overexploitation.