In a global scenario where more than 25% of the urban population lives under severe water stress and where the climate crisis is altering patterns of availability, quality, and stability of water resources, the Beijing sub‑center emerges as a critical node requiring bold, high‑impact interventions. The region faces structural pressure driven by decades of aquifer overexploitation, where nearly 70% of new water demand has historically been met by groundwater, together with continually declining water tables and localized subsidence that threatens essential infrastructure. Tongzhou District’s water market reflects this tension: demand grows in parallel with the expansion of Beijing’s new administrative center, one of the fastest‑urbanizing zones in the country, now exceeding 950,000 inhabitants. This situation unfolds in a China that holds 20% of the world’s population but only 6% of its freshwater, making every cubic meter an economic and strategic asset. Against this backdrop, infrastructure that expands supply capacity while redefining the relationship between water, territory, and urban development becomes indispensable.
The expansion of the Beijing Tongzhou Phase II Water Plant responds to this urgency through a transformative intervention designed to add 200,000 m³/day of treated capacity and to ensure a secure, stable, and climate‑resilient supply. Located in Tongzhou District (39.909° N, 116.658° E), the plant integrates into the South–North Water Transfer corridor, positioning itself as a strategic node in China’s national water system and as a foundational support for the urban‑administrative expansion of Beijing. Its strategic purpose is to correct the structural imbalance between supply and demand by progressively replacing groundwater extraction, stabilizing the integrated urban‑rural supply system, and incorporating deep filtration and treatment processes that surpass national standards. Its rationale lies in halting aquifer degradation, improving municipal water quality, reducing climate‑related vulnerabilities, and accompanying the district’s evolution as China’s new governance hub.
Execution is supported by a technical and strategic ecosystem led by Beijing Water Group, district water authorities, specialized engineering institutes, advanced technology providers, and independent auditors responsible for performance verification. This governance structure ensures compliance with the highest standards of operational safety, energy efficiency, and water quality. The project aligns fully with Water Positive principles, delivering additionality through new capacity, enabling full traceability via SCADA‑integrated instrumentation, and demonstrating intentionality by directly reducing aquifer pressure. Its potential to generate Volumetric Water Benefits linked to water security and quality reinforces its contribution to a regenerative and measurable water economy, positioning the plant as a national and international benchmark in next‑generation water infrastructure.
The technical and strategic opportunity driving this intervention arises at a decisive moment for water security in Beijing’s sub‑center, where rising demand, rapid demographic expansion, and aquifer depletion converge to form a critical scenario requiring high‑capacity, high‑precision solutions. The expansion of Phase II makes it possible to transform 200,000 m³/day of raw water from the South–North corridor into high‑quality potable water through a treatment train featuring high‑capacity screening, optimized coagulation and flocculation, pulsating sedimentation, multistage granular filtration, and deep treatment with ozone and granular activated carbon. Each stage is engineered to operate under high hydraulic loads, minimizing energy loss and delivering an effluent with turbidity below 0.1 NTU and stable organoleptic properties, even under seasonal variability.
Beyond volume, the plant fundamentally transforms the district’s water management. It immediately replaces critical groundwater extraction equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 300,000 households, substantially relieving pressure on vulnerable aquifers. Direct benefits include energy efficiency gains exceeding 35% through variable‑frequency pumps and hydraulic energy recovery, reduced emissions linked to deep groundwater pumping, restoration of ecological flows in urban rivers, and a measurable decrease in subsidence risks. Transitioning from groundwater to treated surface water also reduces concentrations of emerging contaminants, fine sediments, and salts that previously degraded the distribution network and elevated maintenance costs.
Existing challenges include over 15% distribution losses, aging treatment plants, diffuse contamination at extraction points, and a chronic mismatch between regulated supply and accelerating urban demand. Operational constraints, such as aging infrastructure and insufficiently integrated sectorized networks, combine with structural factors like rapid urban growth over historically groundwater‑dependent territory, and with increasingly stringent national quality standards. Phase II mitigates these challenges simultaneously by modernizing the network, integrating advanced real‑time monitoring, and stabilizing supply.
The project is enabled through coordination among Beijing Water Group, leading engineering institutions, filtration and ozonation technology providers, and municipal authorities responsible for hydraulic planning. This ecosystem ensures that the solution addresses immediate needs while anticipating future demands over the next 30 years.
Its replicability derives from modularity, compatibility with multiple water sources, and a fully digital operational framework based on BIM and SCADA platforms. These features enable application in other metropolitan corridors across China and Asia facing similar groundwater depletion and water‑stress conditions. For enterprises leading such investments, the opportunity is clear: positioning themselves as catalysts of water security, achieving advanced ESG performance, anticipating regulatory evolution, and demonstrating leadership in infrastructure that integrates efficiency, resilience, and environmental regeneration.
The project relies on a robust grey‑infrastructure solution enhanced by advanced digital tools. Its treatment train combines mechanical pretreatment, online‑controlled coagulation–flocculation, high‑rate sedimentation, multistage granular filtration, and ozone–activated carbon polishing, achieving effective removal of solids, residual organic matter, and microcontaminants. This configuration was selected for its operational reliability, low cost per treated cubic meter, energy efficiency, and compatibility with the regulated water arriving from the South–North Transfer Project, outperforming alternatives like ultrafiltration or MBR systems in scalability and maintainability.
Operationally, the plant acts as a hybrid system: high‑capacity physical infrastructure combined with BIM modeling, SCADA systems, and IoT sensor networks that enable continuous monitoring and real‑time adjustment. With the capacity to serve more than 900,000 people daily, it directly reduces dependence on overexploited aquifers and stabilizes the network under extreme variations in flow or quality. The use of mature technologies, local availability of spare parts, and prior experience with similar plants minimize risk and ensure reliable, continuous operation.
The benefits are evident in both volume and quality: over 70 million m³/year of treated water, turbidity consistently below 0.1 NTU, reduced solids and biodegradable organic matter, and lower emissions due to reduced deep pumping. Zero‑discharge sludge management avoids secondary environmental impacts. Socially, the project enhances service continuity, reduces operational incidents, and strengthens public confidence in the water system.
Risk management incorporates redundancy in critical equipment, parallel treatment lines, contingency plans for interruptions in the South–North canal, and early‑warning systems for deviations in flow or quality. The adaptable design allows future technology upgrades and increases climate resilience. Sectorized isolation protocols, continuous monitoring, and operational drills reduce the likelihood of critical failures.
Its modular and digitalized configuration makes the model scalable to metropolitan corridors with high water stress and regulated surface‑water availability. Competitiveness is reinforced by proven technology, energy efficiency, and strong public‑private governance, positioning the project as an exportable reference for future Water Positive interventions across strategic basins.
The project’s implementation follows a coordinated technical sequence ensuring operational precision, full traceability, and compliance with rigorous standards. It begins with a comprehensive diagnostic phase assessing baseline water quality from the South–North corridor, historical flows, infrastructure performance, and aquifer conditions. Laboratory sampling, temporary sensors, network inspections, and geospatial analyses establish a robust and verifiable “without‑project” scenario.
Subsequent engineering and regulatory phases define the treatment train, pretreatment, coagulation–flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and ozone–activated carbon, optimized for 200,000 m³/day. BIM‑based design covers new infrastructure and the renewal of over 130 km of distribution network. Institutional agreements clarify responsibilities among Beijing Water Group, water authorities, and local government, defining supply priorities, operational protocols, and groundwater‑reduction targets.
Construction includes civil works, installation of electromechanical equipment, dosing systems, variable‑frequency pumps, ozonation units, and filtration chambers, alongside progressive network renewal. Commissioning involves controlled sequences: hydraulic testing, IoT sensor calibration, flowmeter verification, quality trials, and pilot operation until nominal capacity is reached.
Monitoring is performed through SCADA platforms connected to distributed sensors, at intake, plant outlet, network nodes, pressure zones, and groundwater monitoring points, measuring flow, turbidity, pH, conductivity, disinfectant residuals, and equipment status. KPIs include production volume, energy efficiency, groundwater‑extraction reduction, service continuity, and stability of critical parameters. Data collection combines real‑time monitoring, monthly campaigns, and annual audits.
Physical traceability relies on hydraulic sectorization, isolation valves, and control nodes, while digital traceability integrates SCADA, IoT platforms, and georeferenced databases linking each cubic meter to its destination and associated aquifer relief. The system generates alerts for operational deviations, quality issues, pressure drops, or flow inconsistencies. Independent third parties verify data and certify VWBA/WQBA benefits.
Beijing Water Group manages daily operation, preventive and corrective maintenance, and incident response; regulators supervise compliance and reporting; technology providers handle calibration and software updates. Maintenance follows preventive, corrective, and predictive schedules informed by trend analysis.
Continuous improvement relies on systematic comparison of “with‑project” and “without‑project” scenarios, performance analysis, energy optimization, chemical‑dosing adjustments, and periodic technological updates to ensure long‑term resilience.
Beijing Tongzhou Phase II represents a strategic intervention redefining water supply for the Beijing sub‑center through advanced infrastructure capable of transforming 200,000 m³/day of surface water into safe, traceable drinking water. Its technical core combines robust physico‑chemical processes with intensive digital control, ensuring high standards of quality, energy efficiency, and operational stability. The renewal of more than 130 km of network reduces losses, stabilizes pressures, and replaces vulnerable groundwater sources with regulated surface water.
The solution is particularly relevant in a context of aquifer overexploitation, climatic variability, and rising demand, where previous systems were insufficient. By reducing aquifer pressure, improving distributed water quality, lowering energy‑related emissions, and strengthening water security for nearly one million inhabitants, the project transforms baseline conditions.
Expected outcomes include more than 70 million m³/year of safe water, gradual aquifer recovery, reduced subsidence risk, lower contaminant loads, improved service continuity, and greater system stability. These benefits translate into environmental, social, and economic value.
Strategically, the project strengthens Water Positive commitments through measurable additionality, digital traceability, and alignment with SDGs 6, 9, 11, 12, and 13, as well as the Agenda 2030, SBTi for Water, and ESRS E3. It enhances ESG reputation, supports social license to operate, and provides a strong narrative of innovation and water regeneration.
Its modular, digitally enabled design allows replication in other metropolitan basins with water stress, groundwater dependence, and the need for advanced infrastructure. The project demonstrates how modern water systems can integrate security, climate resilience, and social development, sending a clear message to investors and society: transitioning toward a regenerative water economy is achievable through technically sound, verifiable, and scalable solutions.
