Beijing goes "spongier" to save more water

A total of 1,178 water-saving projects have been built in Beijing, saving up to 100 million cubic meters of water every year, the capital's water authorities said Sunday.

Water permeable bricks, sunken green fields and rainwater recycling facilities have been widely adopted in the city, according to the authority chief Jin Shudong.

Jin said the city recycled and utilized 162 million cubic meters of rainwater in 2015.

Beijing has been listed as one of the pilot "sponge cities" in China. The city's urban planning authorities said more wetlands, filtration pools and permeable public spaces will be added to make the city "spongier."

Beijing once relied heavily on groundwater, and excessive exploitation has led to decline of groundwater levels and subsequent subsidence. Endi