Plan bids to cap water use in capital region

Water use in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province will be capped at about 30 billion cubic meters annually by 2030 to protect the environment and encourage sustainable economic development in the region, under a draft plan released on Wednesday.

Nearly 26 billion cubic meters of water was consumed in 2012. But supplies are not keeping pace with growth, and greater efficiency will be needed to sustain the region, according to Li Yuanyuan, vice-president of the Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design Institute, who helped draft the plan.

Li said on Wednesday that improving water-use efficiency will play an important role in reaching the goal of 30 billion cubic meters.