[By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

Recently, downpours in Beijing and other cities in north China have caused floods and severe water loggings. As the waters gradually recede, it's time for city constructors and administrators to review their responsibility and management to address maladies in the urban flood control infrastructure.

As the public chides the city's waterlogged streets as an "ocean in the city", they also express their helplessness about the transportation meltdowns that happen when flooding occurs. Although heavy rains have triggered the floods, nature is not the only factor that has contributed the recent severe loss of life and property. Inefficient management and construction defects should be taken into consideration. Improving the city's drainage system is a necessity to safeguard lives. Local governments should treat these improvements seriously if they want to establish livable cities which take into account people's well-being and livelihoods.

More and more municipal governments have vowed to construct their cities to international standards, drawing up lots of ambitious plans and slogans. Cities have expanded crazily. Skyscrapers, business districts and industrial parks have mushroomed. Despite this prosperity, even the biggest and richest of China's cities have not been built to handle a rainstorm.

Compared with the fever for constructing eye-catching buildings on the surface, underground drainage systems have been neglected in recent years. Sewage tubes and spillways are old and small. They can not match with the rapid expansion of urban cities any more. Maintenance and improvements have been negligible. That's why cities have been flooded time and time again.

City construction and development needs a long-term foresight and technical know-how. Urban planning cannot only focus on image projects. Short-sighted decisions not only weaken the real effects, but also cause great waste of social resources.

Although, some cities have spent several billion yuan on the renovation of drainage networks, cities are still flooding. Urban flood discharge management should be included in the city's flood control system. Construction standards for urban drainage systems must be of the same as dams or dykes. Once established, the systems will have lasting benefits.

French writer Victor Hugo once said that the sewer is the conscience of the city. After 150 years, these words are still relevant to our lives. Compared with foreign countries, we are not short of technology or money. What we lack is responsibility for a sustained and healthy development of our cities. Ganzhou City in Jiangxi Province is called a magic city for its record of never flooding in a thousand years. The secret of its magic lies in its drainage systems built during the Song Dynasty (960 A.D.-1279 A.D.) Results show that it's not impossible to change the reality if we have the courage to bear the responsibility.

We have learned a lesson from last Saturday's downpours ― we need to change how we think when it comes to urban construction and development, this time using a more conscientious mind.

This article was published in Chinese and translated by Li Shen.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn

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