PROJECTS

Water Resources | Policy Proposal

Langfang, in the Hebei province of the Northern China Plain, is located midway between Beijing and Tianjin, with a population of approximately 800,000. As the first stop from Beijing on the High Speed Rail, the city is projected to grow to 2.4 million within years, without adequate water infrastructure to sustainably support the growth. Langfang currently faces severe water resources issues and is on a critically unbalanced hydrological cycle. Sherwood Institute aims to work with Langfang on three scales- at the city center level, city level and provincial level, to restore the hydrological cycle, improve water quality and incorporate large scale wetland systems into the treatment regime.

The issues: Poor surface water quality, groundwater depletion, subsidence, and habitat loss.

These problems will only be exacerbated by the tripling in population unless action is taken to help the city use its resources in a sustainable way. A growing population will lead to increased water demand, but Langfang is faced with declining resources because of poor water management.

Langfang is in the Haihe River Basin, which is home to the Yong Ding, Dragon and Phoenix rivers. As Langfang is located in an alluvial fan on Huang-Huai-Hai plain, the city is subject to floods in times of major flow in the Yong Ding River. The Yong Ding River has both shallow and deep aquifers, both of which are used as sources of water for Langfang. These groundwater levels are falling at the high rate of 1 meter per year, a result of pumping water almost twice as fast as it is being restored. This is also causing subsidence—measured to be 120 mm between 1990 and 2004—which leads to infrastructure damage. In addition, surface water quality is extremely poor because water from roads flows directly into canals without any treatment.

To help tackle Langfang’s water management problem, Sherwood Institute is studying the issues and identifying solutions that will begin with the city center but expand to the provincial level.

We are focused on three strategies: groundwater recharge, wetland expansion, and integrated stormwater management, all of which operate on the basis that water infiltrates into the ground, decreases water pollution, improves water quality and thus increases water efficiency.

Slowing down groundwater withdrawal is key to the water management solutions. This can be approached by ceasing deep groundwater extraction and reducing shallow groundwater extraction. This will be an important part of managing subsidence as well as restoring groundwater levels. Implementation of infiltration ponds and green streets over highly porous soils is also beneficial. These will double as recreational facilities for the city, but its main role will be to recharge groundwater and capture stormwater runoff, preventing the direct flow of contaminated water into canals and rivers. Expanding wetlands in the city will also serve this purpose as well as absorbing carbon and sulfur dioxide emissions, and purifying oxygen.

Our scope:

Sherwood Institute plans to survey existing water policies in China, examine their effectiveness and compile a policy proposal for Hebei Province and the City of Langfang.

2 Responses to “Langfang, Hebei, China”

1. Benoît Pernet-Coudrier says:

   February 17, 2011 at 2:38 pm

   Hello,

   I am actually working on a research project on surface water quality in Beijing Tianjing area.
   We are actually looking for the amount of groundwater recharge in this Lanfang area.

   Sincerely,
   Benoît Pernet-Coudrier

   —-
   Dr. Benoît Pernet-Coudrier
   Eawag
   Water Resources and Drinking Water
   Ueberlandstrasse 133
   P. O. Box 611
   8600 Duebendorf
   Switzerland
   Phone +41 (0)44 823 5578
   Fax +41 (0)44 823 5210
   benoit.pernet-coudrier@eawag.ch
   http://www.eawag.ch/about/personen/homepages/pernetbe/index

   Reply
   • Veronica Lim says:

     March 15, 2011 at 2:54 am

     Hi, Thanks for your question.
     According to research that has been done in the Langfang area, the underlying hydrology of the area is a quaternary aquifer. Average annual rainfall is 544 mm/year. One source calculates that in the urban area, 90% of surfaces are impervious. The broader Northern China Plain is divided into two areas, the three northern counties and 7 southern counties. The water holding capacities for these areas is as follows:
     Northern 3 Counties:
     Coarse Granular Gravel- Sand– 30-57m depth–10m3/hm
     Fine Sand– 23-45m depth– 2-4m3/hm
     Fine-Med Sand– 30-52m depth– 6-8 m3/hm
     (Average Transmissibility ranges from 650 m2/day to 2500m2/day)
     Southern 7 Counties:
     Primary Aquifer: 30-40m depth– 1-5m3/hm
     Secondary Aquifer 160-200m depth– 2-10m3/hm
     Tertiary Aquifer 240-400m depth– 4-30m3/hm
     Quarternary Aquifer 400-520m depth– 5-15m3/hm

     Hope that helps!

     Reply