No end in sight to prolonged drought in south

Villages desperate for water as dry spell drains rivers, reports Hu Yongqi from Guangxi.

Tan Meixin, 82, carries a 25-kg drum of water home from the Wenqian water  tank. She makes the journey four times a day because her son works in the  city. [HUO YAN/CHINA DAILY]

Yang Xue is eight months pregnant yet every day she spends hours ferrying 25-liter drums of water from the village water tank to her thirsty family. The 21-year-old knows she is putting her health and the health of her unborn baby at risk, but she says she has little choice.

Her village of Longying in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, one of the poorest areas in South China, has seen just 2.2 mm of rain since October and is suffering its worst drought for 50 years.

Yang descends on the nearby water tank every morning to fill a large drum with water and then carries it home in a basket strapped to her back. Doctors told China Daily the stress from such heavy work could seriously affect her baby's development and potentially induce a premature birth. "I know about the dangers but my family and our livestock need to have water," she said as she wiped sweat from her forehead. "I still hope to give birth to my first child as expected next month."

Since last September, rainfall in Guangxi, as well as neighboring Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, has fallen to the lowest levels since 1952, said the China Meteorological Administration. Coupled with persistent high temperatures, the lack of rain has resulted in a severe drought that is affecting about 11 million people.

In Guangxi's remote Longlin county, officials say 11 reservoirs and 58 rivers have dried up, while villagers at the foot of mountains in the south, such as in Longying, can only rely on the rainwater that was collected in 100-cubic-meter tanks during the last monsoon season.

"The water stored in the tanks does not look healthy but we don't have any other choice," said Yang, who is Miao, the ethnic group that makes up 95 percent of her village.

The water in the tank is light yellow and dried leaves float on the surface. Although county officials insisted the supply is safe to drink after an inspection last month, villagers said they leave the water in jars overnight before drinking it to allow the fine sand to fall to the bottom.

Not only do residents need water to drink, though, their meager supplies must also irrigate their crops - mostly corn and rape - and feed their livestock. Luckily, the tank is topped up with water from an underground river six meters away.

The river was discovered in January by village head Yang Minghe, 60, and is diverted with a pump bought by the De'e township government. However, Yang Minghe said supplies still do not meet the demand.

"Villagers don't have enough water to feed their livestock so they will have to sell them. If their horses, sheep and cattle die because of a lack of water, they will get nothing," he said.

Longying is a scattering of wooden, thatched homes deep in the mountains. The people live in extreme poverty and many are forced to leave their families behind and find work in the industrial cities of neighboring Guangdong province.

Yang Yi, 16, who fetches 25 kg of water four times a day, said her family keeps cows in a ground-floor room in their home to protect them for thieves. The room used to be cleaned once a day but, as they only have enough water for drinking, they cannot wash away the smell.