Reformation And Perfection For The Water Price System In China

Water is basic natural resources, economic strategic resource and public social resource, existence of the whole shoot of life, operation of the benign natural environment, sustained development of the economic society, all cannot be departed from water.With the development of economic society, the imbalance between supply and demand of water is becoming sharper, water resource shortage has already become the important factor of restricting national economic and social development of our country. Modern economics evolves from the rareness of resources, and the price is an indicator of the resources' rareness. Though there are obvious different characteristic in water goods and general goods, but price, relation of supply and demand have shown the prices has functioned to the rational distribution of the water resource.Our country is in short of water resource. The average occupancy of water resource volume per person and per cultivated land mu of our country is only 1/4 of the world average occupancy of water resource volume per person and per cultivated land mu. The reasonable water price system is an important foundation of improving the utilization efficiency of water resource, and protecting the limited water resource, it is also the important prerequisite for the market to exert the basic disposition function of water resource. The reformation and perfection of Water Price System is a problem urgently to be solved in water resource distribution field for our country at present, and it is also the question that this text puts forth effort to be probed into.Classified by economic nature, water can be generally divided into four kinds: natural water, products water, goods water, and returning water after using of the products (goods) water. About the concept of water price, though the scope of application is more extensive, is generally defined according to its economic nature. The water price of this text means the cost, expenses, profit and tax paid to the producers of water goods who enter the market fieldand operate by the government, according to the delivery volume of water resource and social development degree of economy, following the sustained utilization of water resource and just, fair water principle, reflecting rationally the demand change of water.To reform and perfect of the water price system of our country, should make overall plans and take all factors into consideration including the theory of the price of planned economy and theory of price of market economy, and the reasonable compositions of water resource price, the project water price and the environmental water price.To formulate the water price, there are mainly two kinds of methods: First, the routine method, including the method of fixing price from the marginal cost, the method of planning and the method of cost accounting to fix water price, etc.; Second, the sustained development method, including the method of fixing price from the marginal opportunity cost, method of full cost to fix water price.The formulation of water price should follow four principles: First, fair and equal principle to safeguard the utilization rights of water for everybody; Second, the high-efficient disposition principle of water resource to reflect effectively the rareness of the water resource; Third, the cost retrieve principle to guarantee that the water supply enterprises clear up the debt, create profits, and expand the enterprise scope; Fourth, sustained development principle, water price must guarantee the sustained development and utilization of the water resource.Our country has a long history of development and utilization of water resources, the Charge System for Water utilization came into being as a concomitance. The understanding of water goods attribute in our country has gone through a course of long-term constant promotion. As far back as the 2nd century B.C., the irrigated area of Dujiangyan implemented the water price system determining the payment of 5 kilograms corn for each mu of paddy field. In planning economy era, the water supply from water resources projects is regarded as abundantly and not exhausted natural resources,people emphasize excessively the natural attribute of water and ignore the goods attribute.On one hand, cause the serious wasting of the water resource; and on the other hand, cause the aftermath that the normal loss of the water resources projects cannot get reasonable compensation. With the setting-up and perfection of the socialist market economy system in our country, under the energetical support from governments at all levels and related departments, through the joint efforts of price department and water resources department, water price reform is moving forward constantly and mainly went through four developing stages: Firstly, the stage of the free water supply for public benefice. This stage went through for nearly 30 years from 1949 to 1979. In this stage, the water supply is free for the public benefice, and the water has no price. Secondly, the stage of the paid water supply with remuneration policy. This stage went through for nearly 5 years from 1980 to of 1985. However, during "the ten years of turmoil", the development in this respect was almost blank, the symbol of recommencement was the financial system reform in 1980. Thirdly, water price reform starting stage. This stage went through for 7 years from 1986 to 1993. After the issuing of "Checking, collecting and management method for Water Rate of Water Resources Project", the people's government successively made the corresponding implementing method (or implementing regulations) and other corresponding files in most provinces (autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government) of the whole country. Fourthly, water price reforming and developing stage. This stage went through from 1994, The water price system reform in our country has gone through the leap of the quality.In order to further demonstrate the necessity of water price system reformation and perfection, I put forward the discussion on the theory and view in the article, and carried on the investigation in Changchun of Jilin Province and case study.Changchun is a typical city lack of water in the north of our country, the water supply price standard of Changchun city is in the medium-sized orupper side level of the whole country. The main water source of Changchun is surface water and groundwater, the surface water includes not only the conservation storage of local water resources projects, but also the adjust water trans-basin and trans-regionally. The composition of the source of water in Changchun city has typical meanings in the course of reformation and perfection of Water Price System.Through comparing and analyzing to the theory and the view put forward on water price system of Changchun used in the article, the question of the existing water price system have been drawn, and the question in Changchun is also a basic reflection of the question existing in the water price system of our country, which is mainly shown in the following several aspects: First, the structure of water price is unreasonable. The structure of water price is incomplete, it includes only three parts: the water price of the water resources projects, the price of running water, and the sewage disposal fee, but the water resource fee have not been considered; the rate of exchange relation is unreasonable too, the original water price is lower than the supply water cost, the regular expenses and the operate cannot be paid for some project. Second, the management system of the urban water supply is not suitable. The water resources department is responsible for the management of the source of water supply for the city and groundwater resources, and the construction department is responsible for the running water supply for the city. Third, the running water supply water cost is too high, the production has much deviation to the marketing, and there is too much interference administrative, the mechanism system for tied the cost is healthiness, the auxiliary facility of urban water supply is imperfect. Fourth, water supply enterprises lack the enthusiasm of water price reform and the inherent motive force of management. Most urban water supply enterprises are natural monopoly enterprises under the jurisdiction of government's functional department and owned by the State.The water resource is the important issue of the national economy and the people's livelihood, and it has extensive sociality. Especially in our...