1. [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3] After nearly three decades of drought, springs and riverbeds in northern China's Dabeiwu village and elsewhere have begun flowing again, with the Jinjitang Spring in Beijing's Shunyi district bubbling back to life in November 2025. Of Beijing's 1,361 registered springs, 880 were active by 2025, including 81 that had been dry for years, according to CCTV.
2. [para. 4][para. 5] This revival results from Beijing's water management shift: groundwater now supplies less than 30% of the city's water, and water tables across the capital's plains have risen for nine consecutive years, eliminating severe over-extraction. However, the rebounding aquifers are causing costly problems, including basement flooding, subway leaks, damage to buried cultural relics, and risks of widespread water contamination.
3. [para. 6][para. 7][para. 8] Groundwater over-extraction began as China industrialized in the late 1970s, intensifying around 2000 across the North China Plain. In 2014, Hebei province launched a pilot program to regulate pumping, followed by a comprehensive national plan in 2019 by the Ministry of Water Resources and other ministries. By 2025, over-extracted groundwater volume had plunged 85.8% compared to 2015 levels, effectively eliminating overdraft zones.
4. [para. 9][para. 10][para. 11] To reduce dependence on groundwater, the State Council fast-tracked the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, whose eastern and central routes fully opened in late 2014. The eastern route pumps Yangtze River water via 13 stations to the Jiaodong Peninsula; the central route uses gravity to draw water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir to Beijing and Tianjin.
5. [para. 12][para. 13][para. 14] A Tsinghua University study (2005–2024) found that shallow groundwater depths across the North China Plain hit a historic low in 2019 (average 14 meters). Water tables then rebounded, rising an average of 0.7 meters annually over the next four years, returning to 2005 levels by 2024. The recovery has brought ecological benefits, such as replenished rivers, wetlands, and surface vegetation, and eased land subsidence.
6. [para. 15][para. 16][para. 17] However, the rising water has caused chaos in areas with permeable soils. In August 2025, Beijing's Shihua Waterfront complex experienced flooded underground garages. In February 2025, water poured into Daguanying Station on Subway Line 7, blamed on aquifer seepage. Across Beijing's 13 subway lines, leaks jumped from 847 in 2019 to 2,214 in 2022, according to the subway operator.
7. [para. 18][para. 19][para. 20] The dampness is degrading subterranean cultural relics, with ancient tunnels and tomb chambers frequently experiencing seepage, prompting calls for systematic disaster-reduction strategies. Additionally, decades of agricultural chemicals and industrial runoff accumulated in the dry vadose zone above the diminished water table; as the water table rises, it dissolves these dormant pollutants, potentially contaminating rivers, wetlands, and reservoirs.
8. [para. 21][para. 22][para. 23] Engineers propose two strategies to manage the subterranean surge. The first involves retrofitting buildings against buoyancy: underground parking lots, basements, and subway stations act as buoyant vessels when submerged, risking upward bulging, cracked slabs, corroded rebar, and compromised rail safety.
9. [para. 24][para. 25] In response, Beijing's Zhongguancun Science City Management Committee issued a March directive requiring retrofits such as uplift piles, anchor rods, and permanent dewatering wells. The second strategy is implementing "height controls" to cap groundwater rise at a safe ceiling. Researchers in Beijing and Xiong'an New Area are modeling optimal water depths.
10. [para. 26] Experts predict northern China's groundwater will climb even higher, potentially threatening shallower pipe networks and first-level basements. Urban planners urge swift action to mitigate future damage and repair costs.
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