Shandong Province, The Protection Of Groundwater Resources Legal Issues

As the source of life and the base upon which humankind exists, water is one of the controlling factors of the ecological environment. Underground water, the essential component of water resources, plays a critically important role in national economical development. Owing to climate change and artificial disturbance, especially the increasing construction of various hydraulic projects and tapping of underground water, the water cycling situation has undergone a great change, change not only in reserve and quality of underground water but in cycling rules. The grave situation has threatened the sustainable development of society and economy and environment protection in some areas. As an important part of Shandong water resources, underground water is partially spoiled, accompanied by environmental deterioration and ecological disasters, due to lack of all-round fine planning, protection and prevention of underground water in tapping and utilizing it. Water resources is the fundamental resources underpinning national economy and social development, and underground water resources is the strategic logistic economical resources following earth surface water and a precious treasure. Shandong is a severe drought-ridden and water-lacking province, with low per capita amount of water resources and even tighter shortage and uneven distribution of underground water resources. Hence, it is of enormous significance to make an analysis of underground water protection in Shandong province.This paper chooses an area different from hydraulic engineering, natural geography, and public administration to study the underground water in Shandong province, analyzing the protection of Shandong underground water resources from the legal dimension. This paper consists of four sections. The first section is the overall narrative of Shandong underground water resources, with the introduction of the underground water characteristics, the basic condition of Shandong underground water resources, and the significance of legal protection of Shandong underground water resources. The second section centers on the current situation of legal protection of underground water resources in foreign countries, with the introduction of underground water resources protection systems in the United States, Australia, Israel, and South Korea along with the features of laws by which these countries protect underground water resources and the enlightenment for the legal protection of Shandong underground water resources. The third section puts forward current situation of legal protection of Shandong underground water resources and the main legal problems and their causes. From legal perspective, the paper discusses the legislation of Shandong underground water resources, legal protection of Shandong underground water resources hydro-rights, and administration and legal enforcement of underground water resources as well as ecological compensation for underground water resources, with foci on the leading causes for the existing deficiencies. The fourth section suggests improvements of legal system of Shandong underground water resources protection. Based upon the improvement of the national laws concerning underground water resources protection, this section proposes the promulgation of Shandong Underground Water Resources Protection and Regulation Rules in order to establish and consolidate underground water resources hydro-rights system and underground water resources ecological compensation system with renewed Shandong underground water resources management and administration institutions and strengthened underground water resources administration and enforcement.