Аннотация:China’s fast-growing economy and increasing population are driving rapid industrial growth andurbanisation. Combined with a substantial agricultural sector with heavy water demands these cancause even a bigger gap between water needs and water supply. Moreover, in comparison to othercountries water use efficiency in China is low. As a solution, the Chinese government has been build-ing engineering projects, such as damming or diverting rivers or moving water from one river to an-other. However, its hydrological and environmental consequences could be enormously harmful. Thesituation with water scarcity in the Northern China points to the need to reform the country’s waterresources management framework as a whole.