(July 29, 2009) Beijing has started to plant water-source forests in its neighboring Hebei Province to protect two of the city’s largest reservoirs, official said Wednesday.
Charge pool owners more, NGO says
(December 17, 2009) Beijing can save at least 190 million cu m water per year – double the capacity of Guanting Reservoir – if the extravagant lifestyle of its residents can be controlled, a leading NGO said after the water price hearing yesterday.
Rainwater collection projects gather 24.5 million cubic meters of rainwater in Beijing
(August 17, 2009) One rainfall may create a new “Kunming Lake” in Beijing. Although rainfall for 2009 has been relatively less than that of prior years, rainwater collection projects across urban and rural areas have been playing a big role.
Beijing’s water crisis and economic collapse
(July 15, 2009) Beijing consumes more water than is deposited there by rainfall and snow and has been forced into major water mining projects. In the past, around 50 years ago, the city had numerous aquifers that could be tapped by relatively shallow wells of 2 to 3 meters. Now wells of 50 metres are required to access that water. Indeed of Beijing’s consumption of almost 4 billion cubic metres of water per annum, most still comes from the disappearing aquifers. The fear is that this source of water is rapidly drying up and that has the potential to plunge the capital into major water resource crisis.
Beijing’s Water Binge
(June 27, 2008) Apparently Beijing is consuming water at the rate Marie Antoinette consumed petit fours and there is always a price to pay for such gluttony. Many news organizations (see, e.g., here and here) reported today on a new study, published by Probe International and written by a Chinese environmentalist, entitled “Beijing’s Water Crisis: 1949-2008 Olympics” which reads like a Temperance Union pamphlet.
Water Crisis in North China
(October 2, 2008) Beijing’s demand for water is putting pressure on upstream Hebei and Shanxi provinces to tap new supplies. South Wind Window reporter Tian Lei investigates north China’s devastating water crisis.
Green Games race against grime
(July 8, 2008) In response to a Probe International report, Beijing Water Authority’s Bi Xiaogang said that the city’s heavy reliance on shrinking groundwater reserves was not ideal.
Thirsty dragon at the Olympics
(December 6, 2007) After the Olympics, how will Beijing’s insatiable thirst for water be satisfied? asks Chinese environmentalist Dai Qing in this week’s New York Review of Books.
Where will Beijing get its drinking water?
(August 2, 2007) An article by Science Times reporter Yi Yongyong based on a recent talk by Chinese environmentalist Wang Jian takes us through some of the water supply problems facing Beijing. Starting from the city’s pre-PRC history and moving through the half-century since, he brings us up to the present situation and speculates on the future. He focuses on two of the largest reservoirs that have until recently been among Beijing’s primary sources.
Beijing reservoir unfit even for irrigation – report
(November 29, 2006) Water from a reservoir that serves as Beijing’s fourth-biggest source of drinking water is unfit even for irrigation, state media reported on Tuesday, underlining the gravity of China’s water pollution problem.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 