BEIJING - Beijing will begin construction on 16 new water reclamation plants this year to ease the thirsty capital with a stable "second water source," said water authorities on Saturday.

In addition to the 16 projects, Beijing will complete another 14 under-construction reclamation plants, said Jin Shudong, director with the Beijing Water Authority.

Beijing will make efforts to upgrade the quality of reclaimed water with low-noise and non-polluting processing technologies, he said.

To date, there are already 16 reclamation plants in Beijing. It is estimated tha

t the consumption of reclaimed water in the city will reach 860 million cubic meters in 2014.

Use of reclaimed water supports the sustainable development of the Chinese capital by effectively reducing fresh water consumption.

In 2013, Beijing used a total of 3.6 billion cubic meters of water, including 800 million cubic meters of reclaimed water.

Beijing plans to introduce more capital from the social sector into the operation of its reclamation and sewage treatment plants, which are currently run as municipal works with government financial investment, said Jin.