Pipeline Concerns

According to the China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook, the length of the country’s underground pipelines had reached 1.48 million kilometers by 2011, including water, heat and gas supply as well as drainage, 8.16 times longer than in 1990. In the densely populated Xicheng District of Beijing, there are more than 200 kilometers of pipeline beneath each square kilometer of land. Problems with pipelines have been rising as China has rapidly urbanized. Official statistics show that nearly 1,000 major pipeline accidents were reported annually nationwide, causing economic losses of billions of US dollars. China’s underground pipelines are managed by different organizations and among its major cities, only half of them are building a unified underground pipeline management system. Experts warn that a national survey of pipelines is urgently needed and say that China should unveil specific laws and regulations to protect pipelines from being damaged during urban construction projects.