ZHOUSHAN, Zhejiang - Residents have been lining up and even jostling one another to buy pails ahead of the introduction of water rationing on June 1 in this drought-hit island city.
The price of a plastic 5-gallon (19-liter) receptacle has soared from 30 yuan ($4.63) to 100 yuan during the past three days and many shopkeepers said they have sold out of such buckets, despite the high prices.
During the rationing, water will be supplied for five hours each day, according to a circular from the authorities.
Li Hongyu, a shopkeeper on the Donghai Road, said she has sold more than 1,000 buckets since May 29, when residents learned water rationing would be introduced.
"The best-selling buckets are the stainless 30-gallon ones that cost 1,000 yuan each, because restaurants will need them to reserve enough water to sustain normal operations," she said.
In the past, people rarely spent more than 300 yuan on such containers, she said.
Some residents who failed to find suitable buckets snapped up trashcans.
"The larger, the better," said Hong Wenzhu, who lives with his wife, Sun Mei, and their four parents.
"The circular did not say when water rationing will end, so I must make sure that every family member has enough water to use," said Sun. "We will not turn off the tap until rationing is over."
The water level in Yaojiang River in the neighboring city of Ningbo has fallen sharply in recent months because of the drought.
Daily water consumption in Zhoushan is about 140,000 cubic meters, about 80,000 of which are sourced from outside the island.
There has not been significant rain in the area to boost freshwater reserves since July last year, according to statistics from the Zhoushan water authority.
Chen Jun, a spokesman for the authority, said the price of water for domestic use may increase slightly and the cost for industrial users may also go up at some point.
All of the island's desalination plants are being used and are pumping out 40,000 cubic meters of treated seawater each day.
The cost of removing salt from the seawater runs at about 6 yuan per cubic meter, according to Chen.
