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Beijing aims to protect itself from floods through building 73 parks and five reservoirs to store water during flood season, the Beijing Times reported on Wednesday.
Since there is no room in urban areas for building reservoirs and extending the water courses, 73 parks of different sizes will be built in central Beijing to act as buffer zones during the flood season, according to a plan developed by Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design.
During flood season, the 73 parks will reportedly be able to store rainwater of more than 10 million cubic meters.
The 73 flood detention basins can store the extra rainwater when nearby rivers are full, and thus guarantee normal traffic on urban roads, said an insider from Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design.
Binhe garden in Hexi district, Yizhuang town in the southwest part of Beijing is an example of one of the 73 gardens, since the garden can soak up excess rainwater which the rivers cannot.
Five reservoirs will be built in the mountainous areas to help fight against floods.
Apart from the Zuanziling reservoir in northeast of Beijing, the other four reservoirs are Xifengshan Reservoir, Chenjiazhuang Reservoir, Erdaohe Reservoir, and Zhangfang Reservoir in the city's southwest.
The five reservoirs along with the 88 existing reservoirs are said to relieve the flood pressure of 83 percent of the mountainous areas of Beijing.
So far, a general regulation guiding city planning until 2030 is under way with some suggestions to help Beijing act as a sponge when there is excess rainwater.
