Eastern Jiangxi Province is toying with the idea of introducing water rationing for domestic, industrial and agricultural use next year to curb waste.

　　A spokesman for the provincial hydrological bureau said the bureau had worked out two water-saving programs that set quotas for urban residents and major industrial products to prevent a possible water crisis.

　　Urban residents in Nanchang, the provincial capital, will be assigned a daily quota of 170 to 210 liters each, under the programs which are still being considered.

　　At the end of 2002, the daily per-capita water consumption of Chinese urban residents was 219 liters.

　　Under the rationing programs, office workers will be given 200 liters of water each.

　　"If the programs are approved by the provincial legislature, they will be implemented early next year," the spokesman said, acknowledging that they would be adjusted every three to five years according to developments.

　　Water shortages have hit the cities amid rapid economic growth, especially in northern and eastern regions.

　　Droughts, dwindling groundwater resources, pollution and inappropriate facilities are the main reasons for the problem, according to officials with the Ministry of Water Resources.

　　A report from the Ministry of Land and Resources earlier this month said that more than half of China's 668 cities faced severe groundwater shortage and 70 million-plus people were using sub-standard groundwater.

　　Extraction of groundwater in China had gone up by an average annual rate of 2.5 billion cubic meters over the past two decades and reached a total of 119.1 billion cubic meters in 2002.

　　China has launched a water-saving campaign to lower daily water use by urban residents to under 230 liters per person by 2005 and 240 liters by 2010.