New Concept for Water Management in Urban Areas of China

With rapid economic development and urban growth, water shortage and resource pollution is now a serious problem for urban water supply in many Chinese cities. At same time, with enlargement of urban areas and increase of sealing areas (reduction of green spaces, new road and building construction etc.), runoffs of rainwater increase greatly, which lead to the increase of frequency and intensity of urban floods. The majority of water used for indoor domestic purposes is normally discharged after use as wastewater. This wastewater is collected by sewer system and treated at a centralized wastewater treatment plant, then discharged into the waters. Also little polluted rainwater is collected and discharged from residential areas into the waters as early and much as possible. This water management method in urban areas has lead to a range of water crises, including floods and scarcity. Therefore, new concepts to ease this situation should be developed. As alternative water management method, domestic wastewater and rainwater can be collected, treated and reused on site, thereby promoting more water efficient use. On-site water management at this level offers the opportunity to provide benefits for the consumer and the environment. The principal of innovative water management is to minimize the consumption of drinking water and the production of stormwater and wastewater cost-effectively. In this study innovative water management concept will be introduced, which could alleviate the situation of water problems caused by conventional centralized water system as well as insufficient wastewater treatment system in China.