Miyun Reservoir, one of the capital's most important drinking
water reserves, is witnessing rising water levels for the first
time in five years. But the increase is insufficient to meet the
city's ever-increasing thirst.
Miyun and Guanting, two major reservoirs, have recorded rises of
120 million and 20 million cubic meters respectively year-on-year,
according to a recent document released by the Beijing Water
Authority.
An unexpected "abundance of rain" last year helped boost levels,
according to the authority's 2004 working report, but the rises are
also due to the transfer of water from other reservoirs and
neighboring provinces.
A total of 130 million cubic meters of water has been collected
from six smaller reservoirs and transferred to Miyun.
A further 90 million cubic meters have also been pumped from
Shanxi and Hebei provinces.
Beijing has 16 reservoirs in total, but the majority of them
have dried up or been polluted over the years, leaving Miyun as the
major source of drinking water supplies.
Last year, some 300,000 hectares of agricultural land requiring
low water levels was cultivated in rural outskirts, and water
consumption by the industrial sector achieved a "zero rise."
Precipitation, meanwhile, in 2004 was 539 millimeters, up 19
percent on that of 2003.
"However, the rising reservoir levels are far from enough to
fill the water shortage," said Yu Yaping, a water authority
official.
A source close to the authority said the capital consumed around
3.4 billion cubic metres of water last year: 1.2 billion cubic
metres for public and residential use, 1.2 billion for agriculture,
800 million for the industrial sector and 200 million for other
uses.
"One noticeable point is that of the total consumed, over 76
percent came from ground water," said the source, i.e. not from
reservoirs, rivers or other forms of surface water.
Designed decades ago with a capacity of 4.3 billion cubic metres
it was expected that Miyun would be able to meet the drinking water
demands of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.
But since 1982, "it has been dedicated to supplying Beijing
alone," said Yu.
Liu Peng, an engineer with the authority's water conservancy
office, told China Daily that a new round of water economy
measures are to be taken this year.
To that end, the authority drafted a new conservancy guideline,
which won approval from the municipal legislature in January.
"It's expected to take effect during the first half of this
year," said Liu.
At the same time, some newly built public buildings and
residential communities are required to have water-recycling
facilities.
The city consumed 140 million cubic metres of recycled water
last year, representing a utilization rate of 28 percent.
This year, the percentage of recycled water forming the city's
total consumption has been set at 30 percent.
"It is set to reach 50 percent by 2008," said Liu.
Mayor Wang Qishan, announced in his working report submitted to
the Third Session of the 12th Beijing Municipal People's Congress,
the government is to lay 70 kilometers more pipeline for recycled
water this year.
Water prices are also set to rise by about 1 yuan (12 US cents)
per cubic meter, said Liu.
The Beijing Municipal Committee of the China Democratic National
Construction Association has also appealed to the municipal
government urging more efforts to protect water sources, mainly
located in the city's northern suburbs, especially in Huairou and
Miyun districts.
The committee submitted a nine-page proposal to the Third
Session of the 10th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, suggesting that
district governments with water sources be required to protect
supplies and cut pollution, as opposed to focusing on economic
growth.
"When evaluating the achievements of local officials in the
districts, we should see whether they've done a good job in
ensuring water quality, rather than merely statistical growth in
GDP," said the proposal.
(China Daily February 22, 2005)