On February 17, 2012, an article in the Shanghai Daily reported that 40 percent of China’s rivers are seriously polluted, two thirds of Chinese cities are “water needy,” 300 million people in rural areas lack access to drinking water, and 20 percent of rivers are too toxic to even touch. In response, it continued, the State Council unveiled a guideline to cap the maximum volume of water use at 700 billion cubic meters by the end of 2030 and tighten its supervision over exploitation of underground water and other sources of drinking water.