Water and My Village

When I was a little kid, there were about five or six water wells in my village in Northeast China. They were stoned-lined, deep and clear. In winter, the platforms were icy and dangerous, however.

Adults drew water using a windlass or pulling a rope by hand, then shouldered buckets of water home. The wells were far from most the homes. Every family had a big earthen water pot.

When cement became affordable, my father built concrete well lining tubes and dug a water-well in our front yard with his friends. Water could be drawn right from the front yard, and our life was so convenient that water was not an issue any more for cooking, washing, and gardening. Then other villagers followed suit.

When electric submersible pumps became available, water could be drawn from the well in the front yard by closing an electric switch. Technical advance is great.

A couple of years ago, a dyeing plant was established just outside the village. Most of the wells gradually became empty of groundwater. Villagers had to dig deep wells, and well-drilling was once a good business for some time there. However, even the groundwater they could get has been polluted.

I heard that the owner of the dyeing plant has become a multi-millionaire, and some people are relying on bottled water for cooking and drinking.

What will the local government say? GDP?