North China's Hebei Province is preparing to store 400 to 500 million cubic meters of water in four reservoirs to ensure its neighbor Beijing has an ample supply of water when it hosts the 2008 Olympic Games, the provincial water resources department said Monday.

 

Beijing will rely on Hebei Province for an additional 200 to 400 million cubic meters of water supply to meet the capital city's growing demand, the department said.

 

Beijing's maximum daily water consumption is currently 2.42 million cubic meters but that figure is expected to reach 2.7 million a day during the 2008 Olympic Games, said Hu Bo, an official with Beijing Water Supply Bureau.

 

This would nearly drain the city's own water resources as Beijing's maximum available water supply per day is around 2.75 million cubic meters, he said.

 

Water from neighboring Hebei Province will provide a stable backup source prior to the completion of the massive south-to-north water diversion project. That project is projected to pipe 1.2 billion cubic meters of water a year from the Yangtze River to the national capital by 2010.

 

Hebei's water reserves for Beijing will be stored in four large reservoirs that are currently holding 786 million cubic meters of water.

 

"Even if north China has a severe drought over the next two years, these four reservoirs will ensure ample water supply to Beijing," said Wei Zhimin, a water conservation specialist based in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang.

 

Beijing is home to 15.36 million permanent residents and over four million people from other parts of the country and abroad. Its average annual per capita water availability is less than 300 cubic meters, far below the international benchmark of 1,000 cubic meters per person.

 

Embattled by successive years of drought, Beijing has been grappling with ways to secure new water sources. The city has completed three groundwater projects in the outlying districts of Huairou, Fangshan and Pinggu.

 

These new water sources have so far channeled more than 350 million cubic meters of groundwater to central Beijing, according to statistics provided by the city's water supply bureau.

 

Apart from searching for new water sources, the thirsty city is also looking for ways to conserve water.

 

The city's manufacturers have been urged to use water sparingly and residents are being encouraged to install more efficient taps, shower heads and toilets.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2006)