Beijing builds 1,178 water conservation projects

Chinese capital Beijing, which once relied heavily on groundwater that led to its depletion, has built more than 1,000 conservation projects saving up to 100 million cubic metres of water annually, officials said today.
Beijing water authorities said about 1,178 water-saving projects have been built in Beijing, saving up to 100 million cubic metres of water every year.
Water permeable bricks, sunken green fields and rainwater recycling facilities have been widely adopted in the city, according to the authority chief Jin Shudong.
Jin said Beijing recycled and utilised 162 million cubic metres of rainwater in 2015, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Beijing has been listed as one of the pilot "sponge cities" in China.
The city's urban planning authorities said more wetlands, filtration pools and permeable public spaces will be added to make the city "spongier."
Beijing once relied heavily on groundwater. And excessive exploitation has led to decline of groundwater levels and subsequent subsidence.