The dry capital: are Beijing’s days numbered?

　　Beijing, one of the driest cities on the planet, played host to the world’s biggest gathering of water experts this week, theWorld Water Congress. 　　Nearly 3,000 scholars and government officials from hundreds of countries gathered in the capital to discuss one of the globe’s most pressing problems - a lack of water.And as the great and the good put their heads together, stark warnings about the water shortage facing Beijing were sounded. 　　Lacking clean water 　　Yu Kongjian, an outspoken environment campaigner and professor of landscape design at Beijing University, said, “Watr is the number one problem facing China at the moment. If things keep going as they are, in about 20 years China will have to move its capital from Beijing because of the lack of clean water - it’s simply that serious. 　　According to statistics released by Beijing’s Water Bureau, per capita water resources for China’s 1.3 billion people are less than a third of the global average. Around 90 percent of underground water supplies in Being are contaminated. To make matters worse, the city’s water table is dropping at a rate of one meter every year and the capital gets on average just 400ml of rainfall a year while 1,700ml is evaporated from its parks, akes and rivers. 　　“The fact is, fresh water is in decline everywhere due to watershed erosion, over-damming, under conserving and antiquated technology,” said Peter Droege, noted academic and author oIntelligent Environments and The Renewable City. “But Beijing and China have other concerns - every local government here is working autonomously.?And China is still heavily reliant on fossil and nuclear fuel. According to Droege, one standard 500MW coal power plant uses as much water as 250,000 people. 　　Middle classes 　　China’s emerging middle classes are changing the water landscape too. In 1994, Beijing had three 18-hole golf courses. Ten years later they had nearly 0. And each golf course needs 3,000 cubic meters of water a day - as much as 15,000 people. 　　The water conference will address many of these issues, but Peter Droege sees potential solutions already underway in some parts of Asia. “Water sensitive urban design is important,” he says, “In Singapore they are turning Marina Bay into a fresh water reservoir, and are already bottling recycled household waste water.” The Chinese governmenttaking this seriously too. In August, Qiu Baoxing, the Vice-Minister of Construction and the man in charge of the huge investment program, said, “I can clearly tell you, our country’s water situation is deteriorating orall. We are standing at a crossroads.” Gray clouds 　　Beijing residents are required to put water-saving devices on taps, toilets and showers by the end of this year. The city has also raised charges on tap water in a bid to cut consumption and residents are being urged to use recycled water for plants and washing cars. Wasting water is now a criminal offence incurring a fine of up to 10,000 yuan. The government plans to spend around US$120 billion over five years on sewage and water treatment facilities. 　　So maybe there are gray clouds on the horizon - in this case, a good thing. Related Link http://bjtoday.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=14226651