Sponge community in rural China for cleaner river

Laoniuwan Village is located in Shahe Town, Changping District, Beijing, adjacent to Haidian District. It is named "Laoniuwan" because it is located at a big bend of Nansha River. The village is built along the river and covers an area of 1,561 acres. Laoniuwan Village currently has a population of more than 4,000 people. The permanent population is mostly the elderly, and the floating population is mostly young people working nearby.

Laoniuwan Village has a temporary sewage treatment facility, but it cannot meet the existing sewage treatment needs, causing sewage to overflow into the Nansha River. Rainwater and sewage in the village are not diverted, causing the capacity of the sewage pipes in the village's temporary sewage treatment facilities to exceed the standard and overflowing. The overflowing sewage causes direct domestic sewage pollution to the local soil and Nansha River, and the polluted area is filled with stench. The village also has the phenomenon of tail water being discharged through rainwater outlets. 

For now, the second phase of the rain garden renovation was successfully completed; the waterlogging problem where the rain garden was located was completely solved; the rainwater and sewage absorption capacity of Laoniuwan Village was further improved, successfully withstanding the 2023 "7.31 Beijing Heavy Rain"; Laoniuwan Village Garbage along the Nansha River has been cleaned up, and the environment has been protected and beautified; the environmental awareness of employees and local communities has been enhanced.

Project Outcomes 

On December 1, 2021, Foton Cummins jointly launched the "Sponge Community" project with Fuqun and Laoniuwan Village in Beijing, aiming to solve the problems of sewage overflow, waterlogging, and surface pollutant discharge caused by rainwater in the city. Into the river, sewage overflow pollutes the Nansha River, resulting in serious water pollution of the Nansha River. Promote the construction of sponge communities, so that rainwater can be discharged into the river through infiltration, retention, and purification, reducing pollution to the river, alleviating community waterlogging during the flood season, and at the same time Enhance the environmental awareness of community residents and improve the community environment. The first phase of the project in 2022 will mainly solve source pollution through rain gardens, reduce the amount of sewage entering the sewage pipes, solve the problems of sewage overflow and water logging in Laoniuwan Village, and the direct discharge of polluted rainwater into the river. problems while promoting the improvement of the village environment. A small rain garden was built using one-third of the open space in the southern part of the playground in Laoniuwan Village, and two small sedimentation purification tanks were built. This phase of work effectively solved the problem of water logging in the rain garden area and successfully proved the feasibility of further expansion of the rain garden project. In light of the recent frequent urban flooding disasters in China, Laoniuwan Village has the potential to become a model for decentralized stormwater management and be promoted to other communities in severe flooding areas across the country to alleviate urban flooding.

From September 2022 to September 2023, in the second phase of the project, based on the first phase of work, a 1,680-square-meter sedimentation purification tank was built, a biological purification system was built, and the climate adaptability and climate adaptability of the rain garden were enhanced. purification capacity; connected three purification sedimentation tanks into a whole, transformed the entire site into a 4,000 square meter rain garden, and improved garden supporting facilities such as roads, vegetation, street lights, etc., and built a rainwater collection and purification It is a public space that integrates environmental education, residents’ recreation and entertainment. 

Impact - Project Outcomes & Metrics

The water accumulation problem in at least 1/3 of the community (the village area is 1,561 acres, one third of which is about 500 acres, or 333,000 square meters) has been solved; 

Reduces the flow of rainwater into sewage pipes by 30% during rainfall, reducing the burden on the existing drainage system and reducing or eradicating soil and river pollution caused by overflow caused by undivided rainwater and sewage;

The average annual rainwater purification volume is approximately 168,831 tons; 

The green area is 4,000 square meters, with more than 2,000 plants planted. It is expected to sequester approximately 11.440 tons of carbon and conserve 1,022.72 tons of water resources;

2,400 cubic meters (approximately 12,096 tons) of construction waste were cleared.

A 4,000-square-meter rain garden with both environmental education and recreational functions was built. The rain garden backfilled a total of 2,000 square meters of high-quality soil with a thickness of about 50 centimeters, excavated a 1,680 square meter sedimentation purification tank, demolished 80 meters of the original cement low wall, installed 80 meters of metal guardrails, and installed 7 benches and 2 chessboard tables. , 8 fitness equipment, 4 trash cans, 312 square meters of roads were built, 588 meters of curbs were paved, 40 solar floor lights were installed, and 3 safety warning signs were installed.

The impact of the project has improved the living environment of more than 4,000 residents; created an increase of at least 4,000 square meters of public space;

At least 173 volunteers participated in the activity, and the volunteer time was at least 692 hours;

It provides a model for how to manage urban waterlogging disasters in decentralized communities, and can be continuously extended to other areas with serious waterlogging across the country.

Links:

• FUQUN official site