On October 31, the Beijing Water Authority held a working conference on the construction of water projects in the coming months. The average annual rainfall this year is even lower than last year, a drought year. In light of this, rainwater collection will be a feature of future water projects. Over 500 rain-collection projects will be undertaken in Beijing, and 22 places in the city where water tends to pool will be made into large rainwater collection sites. In this way, 40 million tons of rainwater can be reserved annually.

According to Jiao Zhizhong, the Director of the Beijing Water Authority, Beijing has had 444 millimeters of rain so far this year, 24 millimeters less than at the same time last year. Beijing's water table is in decline. Despite the city experiencing a severe shortage of rain, a great deal of rainwater is allowed to flow away.

The amount of usable rainwater in urban areas of Beijing could be as much as 230 million tons annually. However, at present there are only 55 rainwater utilization projects in Beijing, which between them collect just 1.25 million tons of rainwater a year. It is therefore vital that rainwater-collection projects are embarked upon as soon as possible. The collected rainwater can be used to irrigate plants in residential areas, wash cars, put out fires, replace river water and landscaping.

By People's Daily Online