Construction of three projects including the expansion of the Yizhuang regulating reservoir, Hexi branch and Daxing branch commenced Monday, marking the third stage of supporting projects for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
The projects, scheduled for completion in 2018 and 2020, will guarantee the water supply to the city's sub-center, the new airport, as well as Fangshan, Daxing and Mentougou districts.
By 2020, Beijing will be able to deal with 1.5 billion cubic meters of water annually from external sources, up nearly 50 percent from now.
The regulating reservoir has storage and regulatory functions. The water arriving from the Yangtze River into Beijing first enters the Yizhuang regulating reservoir, and then flows into tens of thousands of households through the water supply network after unified allocation. When expanded, the capacity of the reservoir will balloon to 2.6 million from 525,000 cubic meters currently, which will enhance the water supply security in the southeastern region, especially in the sub-center.
The supporting projects fall into three stages slated for completion by 2020. The first two stages have been completed and phased in. Currently, the city has received 2.07 billion cubic meters of water in total, helping to significantly ease water shortages.
