Guanting Reservoir (Chinese: 官厅水库[1]), also known as Guanting Shuiku,[2] is the first large-scale reservoir[3] after the founding of the People's Republic of China.[4]
| Guanting Reservoir 官厅水库 | |
|---|---|
  Guanting Reservoir 官厅水库  Guanting Reservoir 官厅水库 | |
| Location | at the junction of Beijing and Hebei Province |
| Coordinates | 40°23′N 115°48′E / 40.383°N 115.800°E |
| Type | reservoir |
| Basin countries | China |
| Built | 13 May 1954 |
Guanting Reservoir is located at the junction of Beijing and Hebei Province,[5] mostly in Huailai County, Hebei Province, and a small part in Yanqing County, Beijing.[6] The reservoir is named after the dam built near the Guanting Town (官厅镇).
History
Guanting Reservoir started construction in October 1951[7] and was completed on 13 May 1954,[8] with the main flow of water being the Yongding River in Huailai. The reservoir covers an area of 230 square kilometers and has a total storage capacity of 2.2 billion cubic meters.[9]
Guanting Reservoir was a major source of fresh water for Beijing[10] and neighboring regions.[11] Due to water contamination, the reservoir was withdrawn from the system to supply Beijing with drinking water in 1997,[12] but after thorough treatment, the reservoir has been an alternate water source since 2007.[13]