According to Surface Water Environment Quality Standards of China the water quality is categorized as follow:
Grad I: Source water and national nature reserve; Grade II: Drinking water and surface water source primary protection zone; Grade III: Drinking water and surface water source secondary protection zone; Grad IV: Industrial water use and recreational water use; Grade V: Agricultural water use and General landscape requirements.
low quality surface water refers to surface water worse than Grade V.
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Distribution of surface water in China 2016 by water quality
This statistic shows the distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality. That year, around **** percent of the surface water in China had been categorized as Grade II which serves mainly as drinking water and belongs to surface water source primary protection zone in China.
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Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China). (June 5, 2017). Distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 09, 2026, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China). "Distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality." Chart. June 5, 2017. Statista. Accessed May 09, 2026. https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China). (2017). Distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 09, 2026. https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China). "Distribution of Surface Water in China in 2016, by Water Quality." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 Jun 2017, https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/
Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China), Distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/ (last visited May 09, 2026)
Distribution of surface water in China in 2016, by water quality [Graph], Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China), June 5, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/862517/china-share-of-surface-water-by-quality/
