China is stepping up its efforts to prevent and control groundwater pollution. The Ministry of Environmental Protection says 1.06 trillion yuan ($166 billion) will be spent on the problem between this year and 2015, Shanghai Securities News reported.

The national government also adopted measures at an executive meeting of the State Council, or cabinet, on Wednesday, that aim to have a complete groundwater prevention and control system in place by 2020.

At present 18 percent of the country’s water supply comes from groundwater, and 400 of the country’s 657 cities get their drinking water from that source.

By Chen Yingqun