Rational utilization of urban water resources and sustainable development

Since the80s of the20th century,because of rapid industri al development ,the number of cities in China has been quickly increased from1 80to666;consequently the urban population and water demands have also rapi dly increased,thus causing severe shortages of water resources in urban areas .In-creasingly serious water pollution caused by urban development not only does great damage to human health but also intensifies their shortages.Variou s negative effects of groundwater over-exploitation such as land subsidence, karst collapse and seawater intrusion have become serious public hazards and c aused great economic loses.According to these problems ,the author analyzes d ifferent causes for urban water shortage and its eco-environmental influences in urban areas,and then proposes rational planning and reasonable u-tilizatio n of urban water resources,as well as effective measures for saving water and exploring new sources,protecting the eco-environment and preventing geologic al disasters.