The impact of environmental degradation on water resources presents a systematic destructive characteristic. Industrial pollution directly threatens the safety of water bodies. 62% of the more than 21000 petrochemical enterprises in China are located along the banks of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. A large amount of untreated wastewater carries heavy metals and organic poisons into rivers, resulting in pollution of 82% of Rivers and Lakes. The annual economic loss is up to 37.7 billion yuan. Agricultural non-point source pollution is equally serious, with fertilizer utilization rate less than 30%. Residual chemicals are washed into water bodies by rainwater, causing eutrophication and becoming a "hidden killer" that threatens water quality. Even more severe is that for every 1 cubic meter of sewage discharged, 14 cubic meters of natural water are polluted, and this exponential diffusion effect accelerates the reduction of clean water sources.

The water environment crisis is shifting from a quantitative change to a qualitative change. The global fresh water resources only account for 2.5% of the total water, while the per capita water quantity in China is only 1/4 of the world average level. In the case of serious water shortage, more than 300 cities are still facing the dilemma of water shortage due to water quality. The Huangpu River and other drinking water sources continue to deteriorate due to the acceptance of 80% untreated industrial wastewater, forcing residents to drink water bodies containing heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms. Data shows that 90% of sewage in developing countries is directly discharged without treatment, resulting in 25 million deaths worldwide each year from water pollution related diseases, with the majority being children.

The ecological chain rupture exacerbates the water resource crisis. Water pollution has caused large-scale fish deaths, and 42 rivers in Malaysia have become "dead rivers" due to rubber factory emissions. Different degrees of pollution have been detected in seven major water systems in China. More seriously, pollutants accumulate through the food chain, and after irrigating farmland with contaminated water sources, the heavy metal content in crops exceeds the standard by 5-8 times, forming a vicious cycle of "pollution planting consumption". This complex pollution has plunged water resources into a dual dilemma of "quantity reduction and quality deterioration", as experts warn that "the last drop of water in the world may be a tear for humanity".