By Beijing Youth, Huang Jianhua. 2005-03-30

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Agency (BEPA) has involved itself in the laying of the leakage-proof membrane at the bottom of the Imperial Palace lake – a case that has spurred much public interest. According to BEPA, representatives from the environmental assessment department of BEPA and the Haidian District Environmental Protection Agency yesterday morning went to the Imperial Palace to investigate the project.

Said BEPA: “This project is part of a series of environmental regulation projects in Handian District this year and a related silt draining project was commenced before the end of last year.” The environmental authorities yesterday asked the Palace administration to hand over relevant material and make sure environmental formalities were followed. Reportedly, the environmental authorities will not decide whether to stop or approve the project until the results of the investigation are clear.

A project water conservancy expert said that with the obvious water shortages in the rapidly developing city of Beijing, a variety of water saving measures should be adopted. He said 100 million cubic meter of water was saved last year, but that it still didn't solve the water problem in the Imperial Palace. Saving water is definitly necessary, but whether it ‘s indispensable to fit the Palace lake with a plastic membrane should still be carefully considered. The expert said that such membranes are mostly used in manual hydro-projects such as manmade lakes and channels. Membranes are best suited for smaller leakages to ensure normal functions of conveying and storing water, he said, whereas for city parks and imperial gardens the method has not been applied widely. In some parks, clay pads have also been used to prevent leakages.

Wh at is the best way to use leakage-proof film?
Doctor Li Hao, director of Beijing Earthview Environment Education and Research Center, said that similar membranes have been used in western countries before. To save water, many western cities lined and hardened the bottoms of their lakes and rivers. However, owing to negative environmental influence, many of these installations that had cost so much labour, resources and money were torn up again. Therefore, Beijing should not make the same mistake, let alone for the ancient royal garden of the Imperial Palace. Doctor Li said that if construction is continued without removing the membrane or taking other remedial measures, this may have big environmental consequences that could be a tragedy for coming generations.

Translated by Kim Xiong and Camilla Wedul