(June 29, 2010) Delays in the controversial South-to-North Water Diversion Project are worsening Beijing’s water crisis, says a recent report from China Daily.
Beijing’s water shortage worsens as SNWD project delayed
(June 28, 2010) In a bid to relieve Beijing’s water shortage, 200 million cubic meters of water will be transferred from three reservoirs in Hebei province to the metropolis, rednet.cn reported.
Passing of an era: Beijing’s water crisis hurting one of the city’s great temples
(June 24, 2010) Beijing’s water crisis is behind the demise of one of city’s most famous and historic temples, say a team of Beijing investigative historians led by China’s prize-winning journalist Dai Qing and Probe International, a Canadian environmental think tank.
Danjiangkou Reservoir: A tale of two watersheds
(June 16, 2010) In the ultimate photo-op this week, Danjiangkou Mayor Zeng Wenhua, with press in tow, ladled a cup of water out of his city’s reservoir and drank it "without hesitation" to demonstrate its purity. The Danjiangkou Reservoir—on the Hanjiang River, a branch of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River—is slated to provide Beijing with water by 2014, once the central channel of the South-North Water Diversion scheme is completed.
Migrants “happy” to be resettled says China’s state-run media
(June 11, 2010) The more than 60-thousand Chinese citizens who will be pushed off of their land to make way for a massive South-North Water Diversion project are, according to one government official, ‘eager to move.’
Beijing residents worry their city is running out of water, looking to government for action
(June 5, 2010) Three-quarters of those interviewed in a recent survey about Beijing’s water crisis say that they are concerned about the capital city’s water shortages and that they feel pollution and overexploitation of water are to blame. The survey, commissioned by Friends of Nature, China’s oldest environmental organization, was released in Beijing today, World Environment Day.
Beijing’s never-ending thirst
(April 14, 2010) Ongoing delays to the South-North Water Diversion Project will defer the delivery of one billion cubic meters of water annually over the next four years to Beijing. Now, a number of analysts in Beijing are offering suggestions on how the city should cope with its water crisis. Wang Jian And Liu Qiong, two Beijing-based water experts, say the city must ease the subsidies for water consumption to ensure that the price reflects its true cost, while implementing policies that promote the recycling of water and efficient use.
Beijing once again turning to Hebei to solve its water problems
(March 9, 2010) Beijing’s worsening water crisis is once again forcing its neighbouring province Hebei to sacrifice more of its dwindling reserves. According to a recent report from China Daily, Hebei is expected to open four of its reservoirs this year in an effort to help cover demand in the country’s water-starved capital.
Beijing’s mirage: A water park in a water-starved city
(March 4, 2010) As Beijing’s water crisis continues to worsen, government officials say they intend to transform the city’s famed Olympic Water Cube into a massive water park, featuring seven-story water slides and a wave machine. Operators of the stadium say the project will cost 200-million yuan ($29-million).
China grows thirstier
(January 29, 2010) Next to air pollution, water scarcity looms as one of China’s largest environmental disasters. Beijing consumes more water annually than its water resources combined, according to the Chinese Statistical Yearbook 2007. Without intervention, the city will face a massive shortage.
Beijing troubled by severe water shortage
(December 20, 2009) Due to 11 consecutive years of drought, Beijing has become a city of severe water shortage.
Oral History: Old Beijing’s Goldfish Ponds
Below is the seventh in a series of oral histories about Beijing water, as told to Wang Jian by Wang Zhidong, an 80-year-old physicist and lifelong resident of Beijing. Download the pdf here.
Thirsty Beijing awash in water woes
(December 22, 2008) This capital’s growing thirst for clean water is clashing with provincial demands and concerns that plans to tap China’s rivers will hurt an already troubled environment.
Beijing water price hikes ‘forced on public’
(December 17, 2009) The government’s decision to raise water prices drew criticism from local residents who voluntarily attended the public hearing on Wednesday.
Water, the new green worry
(December 6, 2009) China’s woes on water have highlighted a another threat for business to solve.
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