Drought leaves China dry and high

BEIJING, China -- A severe water shortage is forcing officials in northern China to pull the plug on non-essential services.

Officials in the city of Tianjin have cut supplies to bath houses and saunas and banned drivers from using running water in car washes.

Reuters says Tianjin’s water supplies are set to run out within days, and that a canal that started chanelling water into the city from the Yellow River has been ineffective.

“To tell the truth, we don’t know what to do after what’s left in our poor reservoirs is used up,” an official at the water conservation office was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

Withering from drought

The coastal city of Dalian has also cut off water supplies to its 300-odd saunas and bath houses, local water officals told Reuters.

“They’ve been left completely on their own since we cut their running water supplies,” authorities say.

Reuters reports a few large saunas were using desalinized sea water, which is expensive, while others were bringing spring water in from hundreds of kilometers away.

“But most are out of business by now,” Reuters quotes an official as saying.

Restrictions on water use extend to the city’s industries, which have been asked to either cut consumption, or use non-drinkable recycled water.

Any family using excessive water per month is required to pay 10 times the usual price, Reuters quotes one city official as saying.

If no rainfall comes by August, the city is expected to draw water from a nearby river in a plan that will cost $120 million.