Liao River (辽河)

Known as the ‘Mother’ River, the 1,390km Liao River is the principal river in Northeast China, flowing through Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Liaoning provinces. It empties into the Bohai Sea with a drainage area of over 200,000km2. Results from a study conducted in 2012 by the International Water Centre found, the Eastern and Western Liao River show significant degradation of the fish communities.

Additionally, water resources available in the Liaoning province is limited, the average water resource per capita is 535 cubic metre per year, 23.34% of the national average and 6.93% of the world average. Precipitation is also limited and seasonal; in low flows, there is almost no flow at all. Human activities like agricultural irrigation and ground abstraction worsen the water scarcity. Although 81% of the surface water resources and 43% of groundwater resources are completely utilised, the relatively low water supply cannot meet the high demand. Currently, the annual water supply is about 7.8 billion cubic metre while the demand is 8.3 billion cubic metre , leaving 500 million cubic metres of water supply deficit yearly.