A northern county in Hebei province launched its annual water supply drive to guarantee the large demand of drinking water in Beijing and the initiative which started on May 24 will last for a month.

The water delivery will involve providing the capital with about 15 million tons of drinking water, according to the county government.

Chicheng county, which is located in Zhangjiakou city, has three rivers, Hei, Bai and Hong, which run to the reservoirs of Baihebao and Miyun in Beijing, and are major drinking water sources for the capital’s residents.

The county has released the water every year since 2004 and delivered about 150 million tons of drinking water from its reservoir for the past eight years.

To guarantee the quality of water delivered, the county has made efforts to bring soil erosion under control, reducing sand flowing to the rivers by 1.6 million tons every year.