CRI听力:Chinese Cities' Drainage Systems Lag behind

Guangzhou Resident Mao Ling's house has been waterlogged more than 18 times this year. She says as more tall apartment buildings are built around her alley, the more frequently her house gets flooded.

"In the past, the water flowed into the drainage system and disappeared right away. But now there are no ditches left in the alley area. The whole ground has become hardened due to all the construction."

Many other cities in China are also facing severe challenges with their poor drainage systems.

Beijing's torrential rainstorm last weekend caused severe losses to the city and at least 37 people died.

The Chinese government released regulations concerning city drainage systems last year. It requires that an urban drainage system has to perform well in heavy rains that happen at least once every three to five years.

However, according to recent survey, more than 70 percent of the drainage systems in cities across China can only handle regular rainful. Ninety percent of the old urban areas can hardly handle heavy rains at all.

City urban development experts across the country are racking their brains for solutions. Some in Guangzhou suggest that an underground wide span tunnel should be built as part of the drainage system. However, Ding Guangqi from the Guangzhou Water Management Bureau says it's already too late to do so.

"It would be a huge operation. We would need to dig all the current underground system out, and construct the wide tunnel inside, which is almost impossible to do. We have to figure out another way."

However, some experts point out that the overall cost of building such an underground tunnel would only cost one fifth of a subway line. Zhou Yuwen, a professor from Beijing University of Technology whose focus is drainage system research advocates the idea.

"We have to pay more attention to the infrastructure of the city's development when we push forward with urbanization. We've got to build the tall buildings, the skyscrapers, but we also need to build an underground infrastructure. The theory from the developed countries says the money you spend on the underground facilities should be equal to the amount of money you spend on buildings above the ground."

Recently, the city of Nanchang just completed five major drainage systems which cost two billion yuan or 313.2 million US dollars, a good example as one of the few cities in China which has focused on a drainage system.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.