Trucks transport water to the worst-hit areas for local villagers. (Photo: Chongqing Business News) 
 
About 17 million people in southwest China don't have access to clean drinking water due to sustained drought, state media reported on Sunday.

Crops on large tracts of farmland in Sichuan province and the nearby Chongqing municipality have withered due to the month-long drought, causing economic losses of 9.23 billion yuan ($1.15 billion), the Beijing News and the Xinhua news agency said.

Local governments have allocated funds to help residents fight the drought by tapping ground water and improving water conservation facilities, Xinhua said.

The searing heat meant 14 million people in Chongqing and three million in Sichuan lack clean drinking water, the media said.

State television showed pictures of trucks transporting water to the worst-hit areas and villagers digging wells.

The water level in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze river -- China's longest river -- hit 3.5 metres (11.5 feet), its lowest in 100 years, the online edition of CCTV said.
 
Editor: Yan