Beijing's water shortage is reaching a crisis. A twelve-year drought is making the relatively dry capital even more water-starved. The Miyun reservoir, which is the only supplier of drinking water to the capital, is only able to meet the needs of half of the residents in the city. Our reporter went on a recent field study to find out more about the problem.

Seventy kilometers away from downtown Beijing, is Miyun county. It rests on the Chaobai River. This was the source of water for Beijing. But underneath the ripples is water from the nearby Miyun Waste Water Disposable Factory. Fish can no longer survive here.

Here we came across 65-year-old Zhao Yun. He comes every day to net out the dead fish, and recalls the days when locals could enjoy the "luxury" of an occasional flood.

Zhao Yun, Miyun resident said "I still remember when I was 12-years-old, whenever there was a flood, we all rushed to the banks to see the spectacle. The river would stretch hundreds of meters, and the water seemed to meet the skyline."

As a result, the environment deteriorates substantially, leaving riverbed gravel exposed and sand scattered everywhere by the wind.

Local farmers drive their flock of sheep to nibble away at the last remnants of grass here. Plants, commonly seen in deserts began to grow on the barren riverbed.

Zhang Junfeng, a water conservancy expert, has been monitoring Beijing's water condition since 1993. Since 2007, he has conducted weekly field research into rivers to as far as Hebei province. He's greatly worried about the exacerbating conditions.

Zhang Junfeng, Water conservancy expert said "The main problem, for Beijing and the rest of north China, is that we are running out of water. Global warming is the main cause, reckless development and poor planning has made the situation even worse."

Beijing's main source of drinking water, the Miyun Reservoir, is suffering from a supply shortage. Its current volume of stored water is only 1.13 billion cubic meters -- about one fourth of its total storage capacity.

Of that, 400 million cubic meters is considered "dead storage", leaving only 700 million cubic meters available for use. But Beijing consumes around 1.4 billion cubic meters of water. To fill the gap, Beijing is draining water at the expense of the environment, surrounding areas, and groundwater reserves for the future.

The city is eagerly awaiting for water to be diverted from southern China to quench its thirst. But this, according to Zhang, is not a long term solution.

Zhang Junfeng said "The water diversion project will bring around 1.3 billion cubic meters of water to Beijing by 2014. It will ease demand for a while. But Beijing is a place with little water and lots of people. With the population growing and demand rising exponentially, what do we do in the long run?"

Few people would have trekked this far to see a barren piece of land. But Zhang hopes more trips like this will open the eyes of more people to the problem. Because water is a necessity for survival and in Beijing it is a fast depleting resource.

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