Confusion at the heart of the problem

Experts say the management of groundwater quality lacks coordination, because four ministries are involved, each with overlapping responsibilities but insufficient resources.

They are the Ministries of Environmental Protection, Water Resources, Land and Resources, and Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The first three play a vital role in ensuring and controlling the quality of groundwater.

"The Land and Resources Ministry is responsible for protecting the geological environment, but this mainly focuses on the control and prevention of geological disasters, not regular pollution," Ma Zhong, head of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University of China, wrote in a paper published in Environmental Protection, a professional magazine, in March.