http:// factsanddetails.com/china/cat10/sub66/item390.htm

Watch the water, it's not just china

Some see water shortages as China's No. 1 long-term problem, and say if the problem isn't solved in northern China they whole country could go down the drain. The World Bank warns of “catastrophic consequences for future generations” caused by water shortages. In some places the water shortages are so severe that once fertile farmland and grazing areas have been turned into dust bowls, drinking water is brought by the army in trucks, crops are watered by hand and farmers lay out plastic sheets to collect every last drop of water when there is rain. By some estimates 400,000 people a year are driven from the homes because of water shortages.