BEIJING, June 14 -- A pilot project to recycle rainwater has been set up in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province.

According to Guan Bin, director of the water conservation department at the city's Water Supply and Management Bureau, the city has initiated rainwater collection and reuse systems in three residential districts.

"They will save Nanjing at least 500,000 tons of running water every year, and 1 million yuan (US$125,000) for businesses," said Guan.

The systems capture rainwater from the ground and the roofs of buildings, and transports it through pipes into an underground water tank, where it is stored and treated before usage.

The water collected in the three districts will be mainly used for land irrigation and car washing, but it might also serve people's daily needs in the future, depending upon the materials used in its treatment, according to Guan.

The city's Silver City residential district is one of the three areas that has the system.

According to Zhang Dingqiang, manager of Silver City's property management company, by utilizing recycled rainwater, they save about 10,000 tons of water every month, which is worth 23,000 yuan (US$2,900).

"Deducting the expense of electricity used in the system's operation, it still saves us about 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) every month," said Zhang.

Residents in the district have also welcomed the new system.

"Previously, the fountain here could not be switched on when there was a water shortage, but now it runs all the time. And, we can pay less property management fees as well," said Jiang Fang, a middle-aged woman who lives in the district.

Guan said that as Nanjing had plenty of rainfall throughout the year, the new systems would contribute significantly to water conservation.

"Also, rainwater, after mixing with rubbish, is often treated as waste water. By absorbing it to the underground tank, it will also reduce governmental expenditures on waste water management," said Guan.

Guan added it was hoped systems would eventually be installed in more areas of the city.

A researcher, surnamed Zhou, at Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, said there needed to be significant investment for the project to be extended.

Zhou emphasized that experience from foreign countries showed that more preferential policies from the government would help promote the water conservation systems.

It has previously been reported that several major cities and provinces across the country, including Beijing, Shanghai and some drought-hit areas, have already adopted similar rainwater recycling systems.

A rainwater collection project utilized in Northwest China's Gansu Province is said to have provided drinking water to 15 million residents and irrigation water to 10,000 hectares of agricultural land.

(Source: China Daily)