Instead of flushing gallons of fresh water down the toilet at home, 26-year-old Beijing resident Tie Yingbin now saves used water from her kitchen and uses it in the toilet.

Meanwhile, local meteorologists watch each passing cloud with excitement as experts contemplate new methods of artificially creating rain.

Beijing residents indeed have witnessed more artificial rainfalls than ever before.

From July through September last year, two airplanes, 21 rocket launchers and 30 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery were deployed to seed clouds with dry ice. The effort dumped 23.77 million cubic meters of water into the Miyun Reservoir at a cost of 0.15 yuan (2 US cents) per cubic meter.

To further quench Beijing's thirst, the city has just finished three major groundwater projects in Huairou, Pinggu and Zhangfang of Fangshan, which cost 1.14 billion yuan (US$138 million) and adds an additional annual water supply up to 330 million cubic meters, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Although capital city authorities have racked their brains to come up with new water resources, experts say conservation is a more effective solution to the crisis in the long run.

Based on that scenario, a price hike of water rates will be implemented next month.

By then, Tie will not only save water but also money.

A public hearing was held early this month to solicit opinions on proposals that the price of water be raised by 30 per cent on average.

The majority of the 30 public delegates attending the hearing consented to the upcoming price hike, but urged related authorities to give special consideration to low-income groups and provide them with special subsidies.

According to the proposed scheme, the water price for residential use will be increased by 0.8 yuan (10 US cents) from the current 2.9 yuan (35 US cents) per ton to 3.7 yuan (45 US cents) per ton.

The thirsty capital city has already raised the water charge eight times since 1991, when the price per ton was as low as 0.12 yuan (less than 2 US cents).

Sources with the newly-established Beijing Water Bureau revealed the price will continue to climb to 6 yuan (73 US cents) per ton in a couple of years.

Resources drying up

The reason for the incessant rise in price is the city's severe water shortage. To date, Beijing has been hit by drought for six years in a row.

The lack of rain has seen the water level of many rivers and lakes down to their lowest points in history.

Liu Zhiqi, secretary-general of the Beijing Water Association, said the water level at Miyun Reservoir, Beijing's lifeline, is dangerously low.

"This year the two rivers entering the reservoir have only injected 18 per cent of the water they did in years of abundance, and the water level of the reservoir is 20 metres lower because of successive drought," said Liu.

Overuse of ground water has led to an annual decline of 1.29 metres in the city's groundwater levels.

At the same time, excessive use of groundwater over the years, both in industry and agriculture, has left the level of groundwater dangerously low in the city, posing threats to public safety.

The city's annual water availability for each person is less than 300 cubic meters on average. That figure is one-eighth of the national level and just one-32nd of the international level.

Experts warn the capital city's worsening thirst will not be quenched until 2010, when the massive South-North Water Diversion Project is completed and brings water from the Yangtze River more than 1,200 kilometers away.

"However, as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 is approaching and water consumption rises each year amid rapid economic and demographic expansion of the cosmopolitan city, something must be done today," said Bi Xiaogang, deputy director of the municipal water bureau.

He made the remarks at a public hearing on June 3 while explaining the government's plan to raise water prices.

Apart from the price hike, the municipal government will also adopt a differentiated charging system on water consumption.

Under the new system, people who use water within a certain quota can pay at the basic price, and those who consume more water than average will pay more - probably up to five times more.

To cope with the continuous rise in water price, more and more Beijing residents, like Tie, have started to pay attention to water saving and gradually adjusted their way of living.

Experts point out that leakage alone accounts for an annual loss of 100 million cubic meters from Beijing's water supply.

The rate of leakage is 17 percent in Beijing, while the figure in many cities in the United States and Japan is only 8-10 percent, said Qu Geping, president of the China Environmental Protection Fund.

"A drop saved is a drop earned. We should treat the fight against water leakage as fire fighting, because water is the source of life," said Liu Shuyun, a resident in Beijing who participated in the public hearing on water price hike.

The city's Water Conservation Office will ensure facilities with water-saving functions are used in public places. Enterprises are also urged to replace facilities failing to comply with the office's water-saving requirements. At the same time, residents are encouraged to buy faucets, shower heads and toilets with water-saving functions, said the office's Vice-Director Chen Lintao.

The water crisis has not only changed the way people live, but also the city's economic structure.

The local authority has stopped approving new water guzzling businesses, such as textile and paper making firms.

Moreover, commercial businesses like spas, saunas and massage centres are expected to pay as high as 100 yuan (US$12) per ton instead of the existing 10 yuan (US$1.20) per ton.

Beijing Development and Reform Bureau Deputy Director Chai Xiaozhong claimed the move was aimed at curbing development of luxurious bathing industries.

According to environmentalist Zhang Shouquan, "a city should arrange its development based on its natural resources. Given the grave water shortage, Beijing is restructuring its industry."

Statistics show China's per capita possession of fresh water resources stands at a mere 2,200 cubic meters, nearly one quarter of the world average.

However, in 2002, water consumption for every 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) of gross domestic product (GDP) realized in China reached 540 cubic meters, four times the average world level.

(China Daily June 18, 2004)