(August 2, 2010) State media says hot weather is pushing up demand for recycled water.

In the recent consecutive hot days, the demand for recycled water has been soaring in power plants and for agricultural irrigation and urban gardening and greening use. Du Wei, deputy general manager of a water reclamation plant in Beijing said on July 27 that the daily supply of reclaimed water had hit a new record of 880,000 cubic meters, 20 percent higher than normal water consumption.

Du said that recycled water is mainly used in the following fields in Beijing: the industrial recirculation of the cooling water system, agricultural irrigation, urban river supplementation, urban gardening and greening, and miscellaneous uses. The hot weather has caused power consumption to soar and therefore, power plants such as the Zhengchangzhuang Power Plant, Gaojing Power Plant, Shijingshan Co-generation Power Plant, and Caoqiao Gas-fired Co-generation Plant are all running at full power. The recycled water consumption is also soaring in these power plants. In addition, the high temperature speeds up evaporation, so the demand for supplementing urban rivers and irrigating crops and trees are increased with the temperature. Du said, “The maximum daily supply of recycled water is about 700,000 to 750,000 cubic meters. However, the daily supply reached 880,000 cubic meters the previous week. Beijing widely uses recycled water in every field, such as power plants, agricultural irrigation, urban gardening and greening, toilet flushing, washing cars, among others. We cannot meet the demand at peak hours.” The Qinghe Water Reclamation Plant, a subsidiary of Beijing Drainage Group, is currently supplying 40 million cubic meters of water per hour far beyond its maximum supply capability. Other water reclamation plants also face the same problem.

Currently, the peak of recycled water consumption occurs from 06:00 to 10:00 and from 13:30 to 18:00. During both periods, Beijing uses recycled water for urban gardening and greening. Through the remote control system, the staff allot recycled water in several water plants, first to ensure the toilet flushing and cooling water for power plants, and then to supplement urban rivers during off-peak hours.

Lugouqiao Water Reclamation Plant to be completed at the end of 2010

In order to alleviate water shortage in Beijing, the municipal government decided at the end of 2007 to upgrade sewage treatment plants into water reclamation plants. According to the requirements, Beijing Drainage Group has upgraded its eight subsidiaries in these years, including the Gaobeidian Water Reclamation Plant, Jiuxianqiao Water Reclamation Plant, Beixiaohe Water Reclamation Plant, Xiaohongmen Water Reclamation Plant, Fangzhuang Water Reclamation Plant, Wujiacun Water Reclamation Plant, Qinghe Water Reclamation Plant, and Lugouqiao Water Reclamation Plant.

In April 2009, the Lugouqiao Water Reclamation Plant project and the second phase of the Qinghe Water Reclamation Plant project began construction, and are expected to be completed at the end of 2010 and 2011 respectively. After completion, the two plants will provide an aggregate of 650,000 cubic meters of recycled water every day for residents in the northern and southern areas of Beijing.

Author: Shi Taoyang, CNTV

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