Off the wire
• Rio 2016: Moody's predicts positive short-term incentives in Brazil's economy after Olympics  • Sebastian Coe: Rio spirit to 'absorb' Olympics  • Ex-Portugal coach Bento vows discipline at new club Cruzeiro  • Canadian PM to introduce transgender rights bill  • Surgeons perform first penis transplant in U.S.  • Canada Defence Ministry invests in brain imaging technology for mental health research  • Search for durable solution to Kosovo issue should continue: Chinese envoy  • New education fund to be launched at upcoming UN World Humanitarian Summit  • China cuts its holding of U.S. treasuries in March  • Canadian stocks perk up as crude hits 6-month highs  
You are here: 　 Home/ Environment

Beijing goes "spongier" to save more water

Xinhua, May 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

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.