ABSTRACT
Beijing City, the capital of China, has experienced rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization in last 30 years. The total population was nearly 20 million and the GDP was around 10,000 US$ per capita in 2010 (Beijing Statistics Bureau 2010). With a temperate climate, water resources are limited. The total water resources were estimated around 38 108 m3/annum (a), only 190 m3/a per capita, which is much lower than the world average and is categorized as absolute water scarcity (Yang and Zehnder 2001). The infl ows of surface water have been substantially decreased due to the construction of reservoirs and water diversions in upstream areas. Water demand for rapid social and economical developments has been met with the overexploitation of groundwater since the 1980s. Groundwater supply accounts for two-thirds of the water supply for Beijing municipality: roughly 60% for irrigation, 25% for drinking water, and 15% for industrial water
supply (Beijing Water Authority 2006). Beijing has experienced prolonged consecutive droughts since 1999. The average annual precipitation from 1999 to 2010 is only 78% of the mean annual precipitation from 1959 to 1998. The water shortage during this severe dry spell was met with the installation of six new emergency groundwater well fi elds. The combined effects of decreasing natural recharge and increasing abstraction have caused the rapid depletion of groundwater storage. The consequences are serious: drying shallow wells, drying streams, degraded ecosystems, and land subsidence (Beijing Engineering Geological Survey Institute 2007).
