Beijing groundwater rises as south-north diversion takes strain

Beijing is beginning to see real benefit from China's huge south-north water diversion project, as the extra supply to the capital means it no longer has to over-exploit groundwater at cost to the environment.

Groundwater resources in Beijing grew on a monthly basis for the first time in 16 years last month, adding 80 million cubic meters, according to Dai Yuhua, director of water resources at Beijing's Water Management Bureau.

"The groundwater level rose because of the water brought in through the south-to-north diversion project and measures to curb groundwater exploitation," Dai said on Friday.

A dry climate in recent years has left Beijing parched. On average, it needs 3.6 billion cubic meters of water every year, but its own water resources only amount to 2.1 billion cubic meters.

In order to meed the demand, about 500 million cubic meters of groundwater have been extracted from the ground every year for the last decade, which caused subsidence and environmental damage, Dai explained.

Beijing has 6,000 wells to draw water from underground, but it plans to shut them all down by 2020.

The south-to-north water diversion project, which is partly operational, brings water from the mighty Yangtze River in the south to the north.

Beijing gets water via the middle route of the project, which draws from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in the middle-upper reaches of the Hanjiang River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze, and brings it to Henan, Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin.

On a daily basis, the project provides 60 percent of the average two million cubic meters needed by Beijing residents.

"The diversion project will help Beijing and other cities in the dry north to recover their environment," said Wang Hao, a water resources specialist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Endi