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 commuter holding his shoes rides on a tricyle through a flooded street, caused by a heavy downpour brought about by the southwest moonson, in Manila, Philippines on August 2, 2019. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)

Actress Michelle Rodriguez attends the Shane Black 9th annual Hallowen party held on October 31, 2003 in Hancock Park, Los Angeles. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

A solar-powered plane takes off from Jiangbei International Airport in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Tuesday, April 21, 2015. The Solar Impulse 2 departed Chongqing on Tuesday for a 1190-kilometer (642-mile) flight to the city of Nanjing in eastern China, the sixth leg of its around-the-world flight. (Photo by Chinatopix via AP Photo)

A pilot looks up from a U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter as it prepares to refuel in mid-air with a KC-135 refuelling plane over European airspace during a flight to Britain from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania April 25, 2016. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A Chesterfield Borough Police telephone operator tests a gasmask with built in earpiece and microphone. The telephone service is considered one of the most important links in the coordination of ARP operations and must remain operational during air raids, 12th April 1939. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A cast member from The Lion King goes to take up her position for the performance during The Olivier Awards 2019 with Mastercard at the Royal Albert Hall on April 07, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

A dancer attends the final rehearsal for the new “VIVID Grand Show” at Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2018. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)