Water shortage in Beijing worse than N Africa  

北京年均缺水15亿立方米 人均水资源量不如北非

(ECNS) -- The available per capita water usage in Beijing has dropped to 100 cubic meters, much lower than the internationally acknowledged warning line of 1,000 cubic meters per capita, according to the Beijing Water Authority.

The level is even lower than that in some drought-affected regions in North Africa and the Middle East, the department said.

Beijing is home to 20 million residents. The annual supply of water resources is about 2.1 billion cubic meters, while the city's annual water usage stands at 3.6 billion cubic meters, which means the water supply gap in Beijing has reached 1.5 billion cubic meters, according to statistics released by the water authority.

The expanding boundaries of the city and the rapidly growing urban population and economy have greatly changed the natural cycling and recycling of water.

Since the normal ecological capacity and ecosystem have been broken, less natural water is available in Beijing today.

Statistics also show that the water in the Guanting and Miyun reservoirs in Beijing is no more than 10 percent of the capacity it was designed to hold.

The average depth of groundwater in Beijing has also dropped dramatically due to years of overuse, according to the water authority.

The city's drying rivers and lakes are enduring water deficits that force the city to suck millions of cubic meters in emergency transfers from neighboring provinces.

Policy makers have phased out several water-consumption enterprises to tackle the shortage problems.

A total of 300,000 mu (20,010 hectares) of rice fields in the city have also been turned into dry farmland to help save agricultural water for the city.