ABSTRACT

As industrialization quickened and water consumption increased, many sectors and enterprises began extracting and using groundwater. Excess groundwater extraction can cause ground subsidence and groundwater pollution. The southern Jiangsu region is the fastest developing region in Jiangsu Province and one of the fastest developing regions in the Yangtze river delta, and even in the entire Chinese mainland. With the acceleration of economic development, this region has encountered water shortages and has thus begun extracting and using groundwater. In the course of groundwater extraction and use, the region has witnessed ground subsidence and pollution. The ability to properly handle the relations between development and the prevention of geological disasters has become an important issue for regional governments. The provincial People’s congress and the provincial government have paid

close attention to the issue of excess groundwater extraction and use. In keeping with the principles of fundamentally solving the issue, monitoring the costs and changing the government’s way of thinking in handling public affairs, they have adopted a series of effective measures and made some remarkable achievements.