Guangdong wasted 16.749 billion cubic meters of water last year, accounting for 37.5 percent of its water consumption, according to the provincial water conservation department.

Guangdong tops the nation for the volume of water wasted and the waste rate, according to the department, which urges the province to build a water conservation society.

Official figures show that water consumption in Guangdong is the highest in China and is rising by 5 percent a year. Last year, the province consumed a total of 44.703 billion cubic meters of water, with 56 percent going to agriculture, 27.1 percent to industry, and 16.9 percent to everyday residential use.

Seventy percent of the water was wasted in the agriculture sector, according to the department. The per capita water use of Guangdong reached 584 cubic meters last year, higher than the national average.

Meanwhile, Guangdong discharged 10.461 billion tons of wastewater last year, 65.4 percent from industry and 34.6 from everyday use. The volume of wastewater discharge in the province is also among the highest in china.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2003)