Beijing's water consumption steady over past decade

Wang Baoen, vice-minister of water resources, has highlighted in a news conference Beijing's remarkable achievement of maintaining stable water consumption despite more than doubling its GDP over the past 10 years.

The water consumption per unit of GDP in the capital reached 9.3 cubic meters last year, a 32.6 percent decrease from 2013, he said, attributing the decadelong success to a series of initiatives aimed at harnessing the potential of reclaimed water and bolstering water conservation efforts.

Nearly 1.3 billion cubic meters of reclaimed water were used in Beijing last year, accounting for over 31 percent of the city's total water consumption, he added.

In a step toward further enhancing water conservation in Beijing, as well as other areas in the Haihe River basin, he said the Ministry of Water Resources has set caps on the amount of water that can be drawn from major watercourses that pass through different provincial regions in the basin.

The ministry has also allocated water consumption rights to these regions, imposing restrictions to prevent arbitrary withdrawals for consumption, he added.

He said that under the guidance of the ministry, Beijing authorities have implemented online metering facilities on all facilities that annually draw in more than 10,000 cubic meters of water to enhance conservation management.

The vice-minister also noted substantial progress achieved in revitalizing previously dried-up water bodies and controlling excessive groundwater exploitation in Beijing.

Since 2018, Beijing authorities have managed to supplement more than 10.4 billion cubic meters of water into major rivers in Beijing, including the Yongding, Chaobai and Beiyun rivers.

"Consequently, the Grand Canal has maintained uninterrupted water flow along its entire length for three consecutive years, while the Yongding River has experienced continuous flow along its course for four years in a row," he said.

Previously, parts of the Grand Canal had been dried up for 100 years and the Yongding for 26 years.

Aside from strictly implementing the country's Regulations on Groundwater Management in North China, where Beijing is located, the ministry also introduced a 2023-25 plan for controlling overexploitation of groundwater in the region, he said.

Thanks to a series of measures that were rolled out under the ministry's guidance, including removing structures for drawing groundwater and groundwater replenishment, the level of groundwater in Beijing has risen by almost 13.7 meters on average, and its groundwater reserve has increased by 7 billion cubic meters since 2015.

The capital has also witnessed the revival of 81 springs that had dried up and are now flowing again, he added.

"Beijing has pioneered a novel approach to rejuvenate rivers in water-stressed northern regions. This has resulted in a marked improvement of surface water quality across the city's rivers and lakes, and has thereby improved the aquatic ecosystems," he said.