Lianshi Lake begins to gather water

The Lianshi Lake, the larger man-made lake on the Yongding River, was completed and began to store water on Dec. 1. The total area of the lake will reach more than 1 million square meters after the water storage work is completed. Three theme parks will be established along with a new Waterfront Economic Zone and High-end Industrial Functional Area in the Shijingshan section of the Yongding River.

Lianshi Lake begins to gather water

One lake and two marshes
Lianshi Lake is located in the Shijingshan District of Beijing and is the largest lake in the Yongding River Green Ecological Development Belt. The total investment of the project stands at 467 million yuan. The green ecological development belt extends from Mayu Village to the Beijing-Taiyuan railway. It is total 5.8 kilometers long and is composed of 12 levels of free waterfalls. Judging from various aspects such as the length and river way area, Lianshi Lake fully deserves the title of the largest lake on the Yongding River.
“In the 1950s, people needed to carry their bicycles on their shoulders to cross the river with the water coming up to their knees. However, the water had disappeared in the 1980s and the region was full of dust during windy days,” said Zhang Guosheng, an old resident in Shijingshan District. He has many beautiful memories regarding the Shijingshan section of the Yongding River.
In July 2010, the Lianshi Lake project was officially launched. The widest surface of Lianshi Lake is more than 500 meters, and the narrowest part is also 230 meters wide. The total area of the lake surface is more than 1 million square meters which is equivalent to half of Kunming Lake. The project was completed and began to store water on Dec. 1. This lake is also the first completed lake in the construction of the Yongding River Green Ecological Development Belt.
The estimated budget of the project is 467 million yuan. A total of 2.4 million cubic meters of soil was excavated and 1.4 million cubic meters of soil was backfilled, and more than 1.1 million square meters of osmosis membrane were laid. It only took 114 days to complete the project.
Currently, the water in the lake is mainly from the Sanjiadian Reservoir, and water from the Qinghe Sewage Treatment Plant will also be injected into the river way in the future. After the water storage is completed, the average depth of the river will be 1.5 meters and the deepest part will be more than 10 meters. “It will cost 7 to 8 million yuan each year to replenish the water,” an official from the Municipal Administrative Committee in Shijingshan District said.
In addition, two marshes, namely the Mayu Marsh and Nandahuang Marsh, will be constructed in the upper reaches and lower reaches of Lianshi Lake. The total area of the marshes will reach 50 hectares and will be used to filter the normal water from sewage plants. “The water filtered by marshes will have better quality and it will also be conducive to the recharge of groundwater,” related officials in Shijingshan District said. All factories and enterprises along the river have achieved the wastewater discharge standards and two small sewage treatment facilities will also be constructed in the upper reaches of the Gaojing Ditch with investments nearing 10.3 million yuan.