44.36 percent of Cina’s drinking water in its rural areas is unsafe, Xinhua reported on February 19, 2008, citing a national survey of drinking water and rural sanitation. The nationwide government survey was the first of its kind with 6,948 water samples were taken from 667 counties, 6,590 villages and 65,000 households. 25.92 percent of the water samples contains excessive levels of micro-organisms such as coliform bacteria. In China, 74.87 percent of rural water supplies come from underground sources, and 25.13 percent from surface sources.
Source: Xinhua, February 19, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/life/2008-02/19/content_7631582.htm