You’ve probably heard the story already. A Chinese company spends four times the asking price to get access to facilities and a significant source of fresh water in Southern New Hampshire. Pennichuk in Nashua supplies water to the towns that surround it. It is a substantial source of water in the area.
We also have multiple reports of Chinese interests gobbling up land near strategic resources (and military bases), so the Pennichuk thing has had long legs. There are plenty of theories, but poisoning it is, at least, off the table.
China isn’t here to poison the water hole. They are here to buy water, which China needs..
Home to 20% of the global population, China has only 6% of the world’s total freshwater resources. 2014 statistics from the World Bank indicate that the total renewable water resource per inhabitant amounts to just 2,018 cubic meters per year 75% less than the global average.
It makes little difference what sort of population or military power you become if the basics like food and water are inaccessible. And make no mistake, China would go to war for it if that were the only recourse. But until then, there are ample ways to obtain it, and buying it is an option, but do we want to sell it? Should we?
China is working to improve how it manages its resources (Communists are bad at that, so it’s a challenge), but quality is as much an issue as quantity.
The total volume of freshwater resources in China is 2.8 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 6 percent of global water resources and ranking fourth in the world behind Brazil, Russia, and Canada. However, China’s water resources are estimated to be only 2,000 cubic meters per capita, a quarter of the world’s average level. China, with a large area, varied topography, and an uneven distribution of water resources, has been listed as one of the 13 countries with a water shortage by the United Nations (2).
Pollution also exacerbates water scarcity in China. Discharge of industrial wastewater, domestic sewage, agricultural hazardous pesticides and manure has polluted the surface water and ground water. According to the 2018 “China’s Water Resource Bulletin” (Ministry of Water Resources 2018) (3), only 81.6% of the rivers, 25.0% of lakes, 87.3% of reservoirs, and 23.9% of shallow groundwater met the criteria for drinking water supply sources. In 2018, the Ministry of Water Resources evaluated 1,045 centralized drinking water sources from 31 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) and found that the percentage of water sources for qualified centralized water supply was 83.5%. Even southern China, with relatively well-stocked water resources, also faced scarcity issues for providing safe and clean drinking water (3). In addition, given the rapidly developing economy, more and more newly-emerging contaminants are attracting widespread public attention. The effects of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) on drinking water quality also cannot be ignored.
China needs fresh water. The “beverage company” that made the deal is allegedly “just buying water.” Billionaire Zhong Shanshan and his company, Nongfu Spring, purchased adjacent industrial property and are negotiating an agreement to buy water from Pennichuck, which they would presumably bottle, and if I’m correct, ship to China.
Nongfu and Pennichuck are in the preliminary stages of deal negotiations, Bower said, but just for water. Zhong wants up to two million gallons a day for his planned beverage plant at his new 80 Northwest Blvd. property. That’s good news for Pennichuck, its owners, and its customers, Bower said.
Pennichuck has the capacity to produce up to 35 million gallons per day, Bower said, more than enough to accommodate Nongfu’s planned operations. Any costs associated with hooking Nongfu up to Pennichuck’s water system, like adding new water lines, would be borne by the company.
One Pennichuk “operative” has even suggested that because of the rate system, this large a purchase could lower everyone else’s water rates—cheaper water bills. I’d love a lower water bill. The Merrimack Village District charges me more per month than I used to pay per quarter. But prices typically don’t decrease when demand increases or supply decreases.
But I have another question.
Does this mean we have enough extra water to eliminate the odd-even watering day bans in southern New Hampshire? An extra 35 billion gallons a day seems like a good right sum to be handing off with ease, even if it’s for top dollar.
Wait. Let me guess. Since we’re selling all that extra water, we still need to have odd-even watering days.
I also heard that former Governor Sununu encouraged, invited, and wanted the deal with Nongfu. Nongfu means a country or peasant women, if the internet can be trusted. The Peasant Woman Springs Company is buying New Hampshire water as if we don’t need it.
And there’s still the question of all the land buys at exponential prices adjacent to the water supply. The facility would presumably be retooled and upgraded to bottled water. Pack it up, ship it. Create some jobs.
So?
Are the Chinese still up to no good? Is the potential for other shenanigans a concern? Yes! No one in China can come to America without the Chinese government’s permission, and they know where your family lives in China. Any long-term arrangement that isn’t an actual defection comes with lots of strings or at least risks. China will ask, and you are expected to do what they want, so it is highly likely that alternative motives exist or are on the table.
Harming the water supply is probably not one of them, at least for now, but the Marxists know what they are doing. Throwing buckets of money at stupid, greedy Americans. Scooping up land and access to resources.
China is at war with us, whether we know it or not, and has been for a very long time. Our way of life is a threat to theirs, and the CCP isn’t some wallflower. We need to be very careful.
