In a world facing an unprecedented climate crisis, where water scarcity and pollution threaten food security, energy stability, and economic growth, the Lijin Reclaimed Water Plant Project (Dongying, Shandong Province) emerges as a transformative initiative. Located in the Yellow River Basin, one of the most water-stressed regions of China, this area has experienced a 30% decline in water availability over the last two decades. Industrial demand now exceeds the natural regenerative capacity of the basin, generating a structural deficit that impacts both economic development and environmental quality. In this scenario, the project stands as a model of innovation and resilience: converting urban wastewater into a productive resource capable of supplying industrial zones, recharging wetlands, and sustaining degraded ecosystems.
The project has a treatment capacity of 30,000 m³ per day, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 120,000 inhabitants, and allows for the reduction of over 10 million m³ of freshwater extraction each year. This figure not only represents tangible relief for aquifers but also marks progress toward hydrological neutrality within the basin. Its raison d’être lies in accelerating the transition from a linear model of use and discharge to a circular one, where each treated liter is reintegrated into the system as an ecological and social asset. The investment of 150 million yuan is justified by its systemic impact: improving water quality, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, and strengthening the region’s hydrological independence.
China’s market context shows sustained growth in demand for water reuse solutions, driven by national policies promoting conservation and regeneration. More than 70% of medium-sized cities face water stress levels above 40%, positioning this plant within an expanding market where reuse becomes both a competitive and strategic advantage. In this sense, the project is not just technical infrastructure but a catalyst for change in both industry and water governance across northern China.
Project leadership relies on an alliance between the local government, specialized operators, technology providers, and independent verification entities, ensuring full process traceability. Its direct connection to the Water Positive strategy is evident: the plant not only replenishes the equivalent volume of treated water but generates a positive Volumetric Water Benefit (VWB) by returning more water than it consumes, fully complying with the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality under the VWBA 2.0 framework. Thus, it stands as an international reference in water economy, inspiring other regions to invest in hydrological resilience and sustainable development.
Dongying City, located at the mouth of the Yellow River, faces one of China’s most critical water situations due to rapid industrial expansion, limited surface water, and aquifer depletion. In this scenario, the construction of the Lijin Reclaimed Water Plant represents a technical and strategic opportunity to close the water cycle, improving efficiency and reducing dependence on natural sources. The project employs a state-of-the-art multistage treatment technology that combines multieffect hardness removal, multimedia filtration, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis, ensuring that more than 98% of treated effluent meets Class IV surface water quality standards under Chinese regulations. With a capacity of 30,000 m³ per day and over 10 million m³ of regenerated water annually, the system replaces freshwater extraction, supplies industrial networks, and sustains ecosystems through a 10-hectare artificial wetland that acts as a natural biofilter.
Immediate and direct benefits include reduced emissions from water pumping and transport (−18%), decreased chemical consumption (−10%), improved water quality, and the restoration of degraded habitats. In the short term, the project ensures water security for the Lijin Industrial Park; in the medium term, it consolidates local hydrological self-sufficiency; and in the long term, it contributes to ecological restoration of the Yellow River Basin. This initiative is led by a partnership between the local government, specialized technical operators, and membrane technology providers, supported by external verifiers ensuring traceability and compliance with environmental standards.
The model is fully replicable in other industrial and urban regions with water stress, thanks to its modularity, low energy consumption, and capacity for integration with existing infrastructure. Its strategic value lies in enabling investing or collaborating companies to position themselves as agents of transformation within the emerging circular water economy. Participation in such projects implies not only compliance with ESG standards and emerging sustainability regulations but also increased international visibility, competitive differentiation, and leadership in water innovation. Acting now is crucial, as each year of delay in adopting reuse solutions amplifies environmental and social costs of scarcity. This plant proves that water regeneration is not an expense but an investment with tangible environmental, economic, and reputational returns.
The project’s implementation follows a set of carefully planned technical and operational stages. The first stage included hydraulic and environmental diagnostics to establish baseline water quality, hydrological behavior, and effluent characterization. Subsequently, during the design phase, a hybrid technological solution was defined, combining ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and advanced UV disinfection, with an artificial wetland serving as a final biological polishing stage. This mix of gray infrastructure and natural components ensures both operational efficiency and ecological regeneration. The installed capacity of 30,000 m³/day equates to supplying 120,000 inhabitants while replenishing over 10 million m³ annually to the Yellow River Basin.
During the construction phase, digital SCADA control systems, multiparameter instrumentation for continuous monitoring, and IoT sensor networks were integrated to record critical variables such as flow, turbidity, conductivity, and pressure. System automation guarantees real-time traceability and early detection of deviations, ensuring service continuity even during extreme hydrological events. In the operation phase, predictive maintenance protocols and technical redundancies in pumps and membrane modules minimize failure risks. Main identified risks, such as variable influent loads, potential membrane fouling, and fluctuations in industrial demand, are mitigated through adjustable chemical pretreatment, contingency planning, and reserve storage tanks. Simultaneously, shared governance among local authorities, technical operators, and recipient communities strengthens social acceptance and institutional sustainability.
Long-term resilience against climate change is ensured through operational flexibility that adjusts flow and retention times during droughts or floods, complemented by renewable energy integration reducing electricity dependency and associated emissions. Emergency protocols prevent accidental contamination, supply shortages, or saline intrusion, incorporating automated alarms, shutoff valves, and hydraulic isolation procedures.
Technically and strategically, this solution addresses a structural issue, water scarcity and surface water pollution. The hybrid membrane-wetland system was selected after evaluating conventional alternatives (oxidation ponds, trickling filters), which proved less efficient in organic load reduction and energy performance. The choice was guided by efficiency, treatment cost per m³, regulatory compliance, replicability, and alignment with Water Positive and VWBA objectives. Additionality is guaranteed through the generation of new usable water volumes; traceability through digital monitoring and external verification; and intentionality through its design explicitly aimed at enhancing basin resilience.
Quantifiable benefits include over 10 million m³/year of freshwater savings, 18% energy reduction, and 10% chemical use reduction, alongside significant effluent quality improvements (reductions in COD, ammonium, and suspended solids). Environmentally, the project restores habitats, reduces CO₂ emissions, and increases biodiversity within the artificial wetland. Socially, it creates technical jobs and enhances public health by reducing pollutants in surface waters. Economically, it strengthens industrial competitiveness, lowers operational costs, and aligns participants with global ESG standards.
This model is scalable to other industrial basins in northern and eastern China, as well as semi-arid regions across Asia and Latin America. It requires clear governance conditions, regulatory incentives for reuse, and frameworks that recognize the value of regenerated water. Its competitiveness, at an operating cost below USD 0.35/m³ and recovery efficiency above 90%, makes it an attractive alternative to desalination or water importation. Expansion is driven by public-private partnerships, technological agreements, and Water Positive certification platforms, positioning water infrastructure as a driver of resilience, innovation, and shared value.
Project implementation follows a phased, adaptive approach allowing consolidation of technical and environmental results over time. The first stage, diagnosis and planning (6 months), included hydrological and water quality baseline assessment, effluent characterization, and flow modeling using GIS and hydrodynamic simulation tools. This defined reference indicators for COD, ammonium, suspended solids, and energy consumption, establishing the “without project” baseline.
The second stage, technical design and detailed engineering (4 months), defined the hybrid treatment system configuration integrating ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV disinfection, complemented by an artificial wetland for biological polishing. This solution was selected over conventional alternatives due to superior contaminant removal efficiency, low energy consumption (0.35 kWh/m³), and compliance with national Class IV surface water standards. This phase included advanced instrumentation, electromagnetic flow meters, multiparameter probes for pH, turbidity, conductivity, and IoT sensors, linked to the central SCADA system for remote operation and traceability.
The third stage, construction and operational integration (12 months), covered installation of treatment modules, pumping and storage networks, and automation infrastructure. Redundant systems were added to membrane and pumping lines, alongside contingency plans for hydrological variability or energy failures. Commissioning involved calibration, flow verification, and performance testing with external technical auditors. The nominal performance of 30,000 m³/day was achieved consistently, with 92% overall recovery efficiency and 15% improvement over preliminary design.
The fourth stage, validation and continuous operation (ongoing), includes system monitoring and optimization. KPIs tracked include treated flow, energy efficiency, contaminant reduction, ecological recharge levels, and discharge compliance. Measurements are taken daily via online sensors and weekly lab controls, generating data series integrated into the VWBA digital platform, which compares with- and without-project scenarios in real time.
Water flow management combines physical and digital traceability: physical tracking through georeferenced meters from capture to reuse or recharge, and digital management through the SCADA-IoT interface, issuing automatic reports and alarms upon deviations. Records are validated biannually by independent third-party verifiers under VWBA 2.0 protocols.
Operational governance involves the technical operator, local water authority, environmental management committee, and industrial beneficiaries, each with defined roles in operation, maintenance, monitoring, and validation. Maintenance includes weekly inspections, preventive chemical cleanings, and scheduled membrane replacement every five years.
Continuous improvement involves annual technical audits and quarterly KPI reviews, with automatic adjustment of operational parameters via intelligent control systems. Historical data optimize efficiency, reduce losses, and ensure long-term benefit permanence. This adaptive framework guarantees the project evolves under VWBA principles and Water Positive vision, ensuring technical, environmental, and economic sustainability.
The Lijin Reclaimed Water Plant Project in Dongying represents a next-generation circular water infrastructure designed to transform urban effluents into high-quality regenerated water suitable for industrial and environmental uses. The main intervention focuses on wastewater reuse and ecological recharge, combining ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV disinfection technologies with an artificial wetland acting as a biological filter. The system’s nominal capacity of 30,000 m³/day, over 10 million m³ annually, integrates an industrial and ecological reuse circuit ensuring energy efficiency and full traceability via SCADA networks and IoT sensors. It complies with Chinese Class IV surface water standards, ISO 14001 and 50001 norms, the CEO Water Mandate guidelines, and the European Water Reuse Regulation (EU 2020/741).
This solution addresses urgent environmental challenges in the Yellow River Basin: structural water deficits, diffuse pollution, and aquifer overexploitation. Before the project, municipal effluents were discharged without advanced treatment, degrading wetlands and limiting industrial water availability. After implementation, the system replaces over 10 million m³/year of freshwater extraction, improves receiving water quality by more than 90% in COD and ammonium levels, and restores degraded delta ecosystems. Its relevance lies in merging technical efficiency with ecological sustainability and climate resilience, adapted to the hydrological and socio-economic context of a region with water stress exceeding 40%.
Concrete results include 10 million m³/year of net water savings, 2,500 tons of annual CO₂ emissions reduction, and substantial biodiversity gains through the restoration of 10 hectares of wetlands. Additional benefits include green job creation, reduced health risks, and lower energy dependence through optimized operational consumption (0.35 kWh/m³).
Strategically, the project strengthens China’s Water Positive roadmap, generating a net volumetric water benefit (VWB) of +1.22, fulfilling additionality, traceability, and intentionality principles under VWBA 2.0. It provides tangible ESG value: enhancing social license to operate, reinforcing environmental reputation, and ensuring compliance with global frameworks such as Science Based
