Progress has been made in restoring water ecosystems of the Yongding River and the Luan River under the Outline of the Plan for Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Water shortage and overuse have left the region struggling to tackle the problems such as pollution and damages in its water ecosystems. Therefore, the outline gives priorities to restoring the ecosystems of six rivers and five lakes -- Luan, Chaobai, Beiyun, Yongding, Daqing, and Nanyun rivers, as well as the Baiyangdian, Hengshui, Qilihai, Beidagang and Nandagang lakes.
The restoration work of the Yongding River, the major water reserve and ecological barrier in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, was launched this April. The work has proceeded smoothly as planned.
Located at the source of the Luan River Water Diversion Project, the Panjiakou Reservoir and the Daheiting Reservoir are the main water sources for Tianjin and Tangshan, Hebei Province. Since 2000, the water quality in the reservoirs has worsened due to the rapid growth of fishery production activities.
In 2016, the Ministry of Water Resources and Hebei Province mulled over policies to curb fishery production, in a bid to build the mechanisms of compensating for ecological conservation efforts along the Luan River. As of this May, fishery production has stopped at the Panjiakou and Daheiting reservoirs. And the water diversion project, which has been suspended for over a year, will soon resume.