A recent UN report warned that billions of people worldwide are living with chronic water insecurity. Cities such as Cape Town, São Paulo, and Chennai have all faced "Day Zero" water crises.
In southern China, a fast-growing district of Guangzhou has grappled with similar pressure — and addressed it through a combination of infrastructure investment and grassroots political oversight.
In Huadu District, residents once reported frequent water outages, particularly during peak hours and on higher floors of older residential buildings. As local water sources failed to keep pace with population growth and industrial demand, peak daily shortages approached 300,000 cubic meters.
Complaints raised by residents were collected through people's congress deputy liaison stations and pushed forward by deputies at multiple levels, who pressed government departments and water utilities to accelerate upgrades to aging pipelines and water-pressure systems.
Their involvement extended beyond neighborhood fixes. Through field visits, hearings, and follow-up supervision, people's congress deputies helped drive a larger solution: a cross-mountain water diversion project bringing cleaner water from the Beijiang River more than 20 kilometers away, alongside the construction of a new water plant and distribution networks.
The project, now partially operational, reflects how people's congress deputies in China can act as intermediaries — translating citizen concerns into concrete policy action on a growing urban challenge.
Reporter | Liu Xiaodi, Huang Yuhan (intern)
Video Editor | Guo Hongda
Video Script | Liu Xiaodi, Rong Miu Tung (intern), Huang Yuhan (intern)
Cameraman | Guo Hongda, Pan Jiajun
Cover Designer | Lai Meiya
Editor | Yuan Zixiang, James Campion, Shen He
