China’s Water Crisis: Why It Matters for Nashua
A water-scarce nation’s company threatens our abundant resources.
China faces a severe water crisis, with implications for Nongfu Spring’s expansion into Nashua. Northern China, home to over a billion people, has seen steady declines in groundwater, lakes, and rivers for 15 years plus. The North China Plain’s aquifers are overdrawn, with groundwater levels dropping a meter per year, causing land subsidence and limiting future recharge. Per capita water supply in northern cities like Beijing is below 253 cubic meters—half the UN’s acute water scarcity threshold. China consumes around 10 billion barrels of water daily, 700 times its oil use, driven by industrial and agricultural demands.
To address this, China has invested heavily, including the $60 billion South-to-North Water Transfer Project and cloud seeding to boost rainfall. However, these measures haven’t resolved the crisis, pushing companies like Nongfu Spring to seek water sources abroad, such as New Zealand’s Otakiri Springs and now Nashua’s Pennichuck system.
In Nashua, Nongfu Spring’s $67 million purchase near our water supply raises alarms. Our Merrimack River and Pennichuck system serve over 90,000 residents and 600,000 downstream, already strained by PFAS pollution (16 ppt, above CDC guidelines). A foreign company, driven by China’s water scarcity and operating with limited local accountability, could prioritize profits over our community’s health. We must protect our water by demanding Nongfu Spring’s removal.
Main Sources:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas-growing-water-crisis
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/submissions-close-on-otakiri-springs-water-bottling-expansion-near-whakatane/AG3ABPC7SZK4PXWP2KSQRDPNWE/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/95670283/Chinese-company-seeks-consent-to-draw-580-million-litres-of-pristine-spring-water
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Protect Our Water, Stop the Risk!
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