(March 16, 2010) A decade ago, China’s leaders gave the go-ahead to a colossal plan to bring more than 8 trillion gallons of water a year from the rivers of central China to the country’s arid north. The project would have erected towering dams, built hundreds of miles of pipelines and tunnels, and created vast reservoirs with a price tag three times that of the giant Three Gorges Dam.
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).
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: Magic Water Village of Mentougou District
Below is the fifth in a series of oral histories about Beijing water, as told to Wang Jian and A.H. by 52-year-old Tan Julin of Lingshui Cun (Magic Water Village) in Mentougou District. Mentougou is 70 kilometres due west of downtown Beijing. Download the report here.
Oral History: A River Returns
Below is the ninth in a series of oral histories about Beijing water, as told to An He and Wang Jian by Li Yuling, a long-time resident of Beijing.
Beijing raises water prices to fight shortage
(December 22, 2009) Beijing authorities said the water price for residential use will go up 8 percent, an increase that follows a jump of almost 50 percent in the price of water for nonresidential use last month, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Prominent city lakes fail water safety test
(November 16, 2009) Three lakes in Beijing were seriously polluted in October, the Beijing municipal water resources bureau website said on Nov 12.
Beijing hikes water price to ease shortage
(December 22, 2009) Beijing will raise water price by 8 percent starting Tuesday to encourage saving in the Chinese capital, local authorities said Monday.
Reluctant support for staggered rise
(December 18, 2009) Most public representatives at a hearing on water costs yesterday said they supported an increase in the cost of tap water for next year because they had “no alternative”.
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.
Beijing to hike water price to fight shortage: report
(December 2, 2009) Probe International, a leading development policy group, said in June last year that China’s capital could run out of water in five to 10 years, a situation that could lead to economic collapse.
Water prices to rise from next year
(November 9, 2009) The price of tap water in Beijing will increase from Jan 1, the Beijing water resources bureau said.
A shortage of capital flows
(October 9, 2008) Probe International‘s latest report is cited in an Economist article that describes how officials planned to divert water from Hebei province to Beijing for use during the Olympics, but instead waited until September 18th to begin the transfer.
Why is the south-north water project being postponed?
(October 1, 2009) Is it the end of the mega-project in China? Tian Lei, from the South Wind Window writes that escalating costs in the South-to-North Water Diversion project are behind the recent delays in its completion. But more importantly, Tian says the days of massive, government-backed projects like the South-to-North Water Diversion project and the Three Gorges dam may be coming to an end.
Beijing citizens invited to express opinions about city’s water prices
(August 7, 2009) In an unusual move, Beijing’s Office of Legislative Affairs has invited the capital city’s residents to comment on a proposed fee schedule for "renewable" water or recycled water.
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