Beijing sees slower decline of underground water level

BEIJING - Beijing has seen slower decline of underground water level thanks to the south-to-north water diversion project, according to the municipal water authority.

Since December 27 last year, a total of 812 million cubic meters of water from the water diversion project has been delivered to Beijing as of Thursday, and the figure is expected to reach 880 million by the end of this year.

As of November, Beijing exploited 95 million cubic meters less underground water year on year.

The underground water level in October this year was 0.33 meter lower than that of last year while that in October 2014 was 1.15 meters lower than the previous year.

The water diversion project, which was designed to take water from China's longest river, the Yangtze, through eastern, middle and western routes to feed dry areas in the north, now provides 70 percent of Beijing's water supply.

It reaches downtown areas and suburban districts including Daxing and Mentougou, benefiting more than 10 million residents

A dry climate in recent years has left Beijing parched. On average, it needs 3.6 billion cubic meters of water every year, but its own water resources only amount to 2.1 billion cubic meters.

Although the city's water resource shortage has been alleviated by the water diversion project, it remains one of the main factors hindering sustainable development of the capital, according to the Beijing water authority.