Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

A dancer performs as visitors take pictures at an auto show in Tianjin, China April 28, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A male deer barks at dawn during the annual deer rutting season at Richmond Park in London, Britain, October 9, 2016. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A woman villager cleans garbage in front of her house as flood hits Tanjungsari village in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia, February 23, 2018. (Photo by Adeng Bustomi/Reuters/Antara Foto)

A police officer pepper sprays a protester as another protester stands in front of the race director's car during a farmers' protest who attempted to block the stage' s route, during the 16 th stage of the 105 th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, between Carcassonne and Bagneres- de- Luchon, southwestern France, on July 24, 2018. The race was halted for several minutes on July 24 after tear gas was used as protesting farmers attempted to block the route. (Photo by Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

Kendall Jenner (R) attends Casamigos Halloween party at CATCH Las Vegas at ARIA Resort & Casino on October 27, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Casamigos)

Children's television presenter Evie Pickerill records a piece to camera with puppet “Dodge T. Dog” in the interstage area on Day 3 of Glastonbury Festival 2023 on June 23, 2023 in Glastonbury, England. The Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts sees musicians, performers and artists come together for three days of live entertainment. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Participants perform parade in the street during Grebeg Sudiro festival on January 19, 2020 in Solo City, Central Java, Indonesia. Grebeg Sudiro festival is held as a prelude to the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 25th this year, welcoming the Year of the Rat. People bring offerings known as gunungan, including Chinese sweetcakes piled up into the shape of mountains, which are paraded in the streets followed by Chinese and Javanese performers. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)