A senior government official recently said that water prices will be moderately raised in urban areas next year.

This announcement has caused quite a stir. Let's take a look at some of the opinions from the media.

An editorial from the Guangzhou Daily says that while raising water price may be necessary, but timing is very important and starting next year is definitely not a good choice.

To prevent inflation, the government needs to balance its distribution system so that citizens can have more income. Since inflation problems are not going to recede in the foreseeable future, the government should find a way to enhance the citizens' purchasing power. When people have a bigger salary, their consumption demand will go up accordingly, and only then will it be a good time to raise water prices.

A freelancer from Hubei writes in the Youth Times that raising water prices may not be a bad thing. Right now, China has 28,000 billion cubic meters of water resources in total, but that number per capita is only 2,300, roughly 1/4 of the average amount worldwide.

On the one hand, raising water prices can more accurately reflect the current state of water resources in China. On the other hand, it can also help us develop a better sense of saving water, since we tend to use something with greater care when it is more expensive. Therefore, the government's decision is logical as well as necessary.

An opinion piece from the Beijing Youth Daily says that it is not fair to ask consumers to foot the bill. Before raising the price, water supply companies should first stop and examine themselves. If they have management efficiency problems, or if employee salaries and benefits are going up at an unreasonable rate, then there is no reason to raise the price and force consumers to foot the bill.