The cities of Jincheng and Yuncheng in North China's Shanxi province were recently included in a list of pilot cities for regional reclaimed water recycling in 2022.

The list was jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Water Resources. 

Regional reclaimed water recycling is done through building water purification projects at key sites. These sites are located downstream of key sewage outlets, river inlets, and tributaries that flow into the main stream. After being further purified to the relevant standard, the reclaimed water will be reused for production, ecology and living purposes in certain areas. 

In December 2021, the above departments jointly issued a pilot plan for regional reclaimed water recycling. Their goal is to form effective, sustainable and replicable practices to promote the establishment of a regional reclaimed water recycling system. 

This system will integrate pollution control, ecological protection and recycling, while exploring new paths for environmental protection and reducing pollution and carbon emissions. 

Since 2021, Jincheng has assigned three regional demonstration areas for water reclamation, and designed six pilot projects and 19 sub-projects with an investment of 1.86 billion yuan ($274.36 million). 

It is estimated that after the implementation of these projects, the amount of reclaimed water will increase about 200,000 metric tons per day. These projects will also reduce the annual emission of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, and phosphorus to 1,071 tons, 53 tons, and 12 tons, respectively. These projects will reduce the pollution load in the Qinhe and Danhe river basins while also alleviating the uneven distribution of water resources in the city.

The city of Yuncheng has planned 19 key projects, worth 4.38 billion yuan, systematically sorted out existing water recycling problems in the city, and put forward a list of supporting policies. These policies focus on solving the problems of water shortage, uneven water distribution, and prominent contradictions between water supply and demand.