In February 2007, our newspaper received a report claiming that the Zhengzhou Sino-French Cooperative, a joint-venture by a subsidiary of the Suez Group and the Zhengzhou Tap Water Company, was suspected of stealing water from the Yellow River.

Original documents made available to the EO clearly show that in the company's six years of operation, the difference between the volume of water actually drawn from the Yellow River was 50 million cubic meters greater than publicly reported, a figure that does not include water lost during water processing.

From 2000 until now, Zhengzhou residents have weathered an increase in water prices from 1.1 to 2.45 yuan per cubic meter. If we use an average price of 1.9 yuan per cubic meter, the sale of this water netted more than 100 million yuan.

The EO sent two journalists to Zhengzhou to investigate and verify these claims.

A 50 Million Cubic Meter Puzzle

"You can imagine my own surprise after having gone through six years of data. When you add market prices into the calculations, the shock eventually gives way to panic and anger," says our source.

According to information from the Yellow River Diversion Daily and the Henan Yellow River Water Survice Bureau, by the end of 2006, the Huayuankou water harvesting facility run by Zhengzhou Sino-French had drawn 401.13 million cubic meters of water.

This conflicts with internal data recorded by Zhengzhou Sino-French, which says that over the six-year period, they provided 456.10 million cubic meters of water to the public.

The source says that during processing, water from the Yellow River must go through no less than ten steps, including desilting, filtration, and treatment. During that time some water will be wasted; conservative estimates put that at 10,000 cubic meters a day. Thus it is clearly impossible for supply to exceed draw.

If we use the estimate of 10,000 cubic meters of water being wasted a day, wasted water for the whole six years would amount to 21.9 million cubic meters. Even if we neglect this, the 6-year supply far exceeded the stated draw, by 54.97 million cubic meters.

The EO attempted to contact the company for comment but none was given.

Actually, three suits have been filed by Yellow River Water Conservation Committee against the company since 2002, all of which are related to water fees. Drawing water and defaulting on debt have become the two major sticking points over long term negotations between the Committee and the business.

Eighty percent of water used by Henan comes from the Yellow River. Before the 1980's, water from the Yellow River was basically free, but as the water resources gradually became scarce due to overdrawing and blockages, a supply shortage emerged. In 2000 the National Development and Reform Commission published article 2055, mandating the paid use of the river water for the first time; water for agricultural use was 0.012 yuan per cubic meter, while water for non-agricultural use was 0.046 yuan per cubic meter. The idea of making money from the river was not accepted by the people.

In 2002, the Yellow River Conservation Committee established a water resource management body to supervise all river areas that were being drawn from. Although the Committee had been entrusted with this task, it had been difficult for them to carry out alone.

This is because before 1990, most water gates and locks were constructed, and water drawing volumes allocated, by locals. A dearth of its own measuring equipment and stations made it difficult for the Committee to become involved. As a result, it completely relied on outside parties for this data, and accuracy and impartiality was hard to guarantee.

In a lawsuit filed in 2006, the Henan Yellow River Water Supply Bureau sued Zhengzhou Tap Water Company for 1.25 million yuan in arrears and 1.27 million yuan in overdue fines. The suit claims that since the National Development and Reform Commission published a water price adjustment in 2005, the defendant has refused to pay the required 1.25 million yuan in payments.

After so many years of improper measuring, the end of 2006 finally saw the Yellow River Water Supply Bureau install the first measurement station in Zhengzhou at the Huayuankou Yellow River sluice gate. This journalist saw three water meters that provide water management personnel with round-the-clock data.

As far as the accuracy of the measurements are concerned, director Zhao of the Yellow River Service Bureau says that they personally installed the water meters at the waterworks. The bureau has already deployed dedicated cables to ensure that the power to the meters is constant and cannot be tampered with.

But Wang Hongqian says that if someone does want to tamper with the equipment, it's still possible. "Someone will always find a way," says Wang, director of the Yellow River Water Conservation Committee's Water Supply Bureau.

"In the four months after installing the measuring facilities, we've seen a 20 percent increase in water usage over last year. This indicates that waterworks had previously filed incorrect or false reports," says Liu.

Just a few days ago the Yellow River Service Bureau began construction of the East Dam Emergency project. After measuring facilities are installed there, Yellow River authorities will be able to monitor river draw and ensure that it is at safe levels.