(September 10, 2010) Beijing’s water shortage is expected to reach 200 million to 300 million cubic meters before the completion of the South-North Water Diversion Scheme.

Water shortage in Beijing will reach 200 million to 300 million cubic meters before the water diverted from southern China is available for use here, an official from the Beijing Water Authority said during a forum on Tuesday.

Measures such as developing water-saving agriculture and industry have decreased the annual water consumption from 4 billion cubic meters in 2001 to 3.46 billion cubic meters in 2009.

But recent years witnessed even drier weather in Beijing. On top of that, the reservoir’s storage and capacity of groundwater has shrunk significantly. So finding new water sources is now a priority.

Song Xianfang, vice director of a laboratory at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at China Academy of Sciences, warned that groundwater pollution is difficult to control, so pollution prevention should not be ignored when finding and utilizing new water sources.

Zheng Jinran, China Daily, September 10, 2010

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