“Let every drop of water achieve its maximum value – the ‘savings code’ in China’s water conservation account”

“Let every drop of water achieve its maximum value – the ‘savings code’ in China’s water conservation ledger”

The Ministry of Water Resources released the “China Water Conservation Report 2025”, showing that in the past year, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP was 42.4 cubic meters, a decrease of 4.5% compared to 2024. The total national water consumption was 594.45 billion cubic meters, of which agriculture accounted for 62%, industry 16%, and domestic use 15.8%. In 2025, the effective utilization coefficient of water for farmland irrigation reached 0.583, an increase of 0.003 compared to 2024; water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value decreased by 7.2%. The amount of unconventional water used reached 256.6 billion cubic meters. The National Water Conservation Office expects that by 2030, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP will decrease by 10% compared to 2025, the effective utilization coefficient of water for farmland irrigation will reach 0.6, and the scale of the water conservation industry will exceed 1.2 trillion yuan. Shandong Dezhou has achieved agricultural water conservation and increased production through the digital twin water network platform and integrated water and fertilizer technology; Ningjin County has implemented a “water bank” system, where surplus water can be traded and monetized. Yantai, Nanjing, and other places have promoted technologies for reusing recycled water and utilizing river energy, improving water…