Groundwater resources protection and management in China

Groundwater is an important water source to support China's economic and social development. Since the 1970s, China, especially the north region, has started to intensively pump groundwater as a water supply for agricultural irrigation, industry and city expansion. To meet the water demand due to the rapid development of the economy and society, groundwater is continuously and disorderly exploited to a great extent for a prolonged time in some regions in China, besides faulty operation and management, and insufficient emphasis on protection, which leads to severe problems of groundwater over-exploitation and contamination. In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to groundwater protection. This paper illustrates the general ideas and strategies of groundwater protection and management in China from the aspects of over-exploitation control, quality protection, water ecosystem protection, and implementation of the strictest water management systems.