China sets ambitious sponge-city programme
China is drawing up enthusiastic plans to further its sponge-city initiative. According to the country’s goals, 80% of China’s urban spaces will be able to collect and re-use almost 70% of rainfall by 2020. The sponge city concept seeks to reverse a negative trend in urban development, whereby city grounds are frequently covered by impervious materials like concrete that stop rainwater from seeping back into the soil and refilling groundwater. As a result, this situation can often lead to urban flooding. Indeed, Beijing has experienced notorious flooding in the summer of 2012, as have the Chinese cities of Nanjing, Wuhan and Tianjin in 2016. China seeks to overcome this challenge by establishing greenspaces (wetlands, roof gardens etc.) and introducing permeable pavements so that rainwater can be collected and stored, allowing one to re-use this water for other purposes including the replenishing of groundwater, which is a key step to boosting water security. The programme was launched in 16 cities in 2015. However, scheme has, reportedly, also met financial constraints as most funding has depended on local governments and private bodies.
