Levels of groundwater in Beijing have been running low over the past decade, due to the capital pumping too much of it to compensate for a water shortage.
北京地下水水位在过去10年中已经明显下降，由于首都抽了太多以弥补缺水。
Now, water authorities say the problem is making it hard for the city to accommodate its rising population.
目前，水务部门说问题严重，难以满足日益增长的人口。
Groundwater levels have gone down by nearly 13 meters since 1998, or 6 billion cubic meters of groundwater.
自1998年以来地下水水位已经下降了近13米，或60亿立方的地下水。
Authorities say the water overdraft has been caused by droughts and dry weather over the past 15 years.
有关当局说，水透支已造成干旱和干燥的天气在过去的15年。
On average, 500 million cubic meters of groundwater are withdrawn every year.
平均每年减少5亿立方米地下水
In turn, this has given rise to land subsidence in parts of the capital, most notably in the east, where the ground has sunk to form a massive, 1000-square meter cone.
反过来，这已经引起了首都部分地面沉降，特别是在东部，那里的地面已经下沉，形成一个庞大的，1000平方米的锥体
This, in turn, can damage existing structures such as drains, sewers and roads?
其结果，可能会损害现有的建筑结构，如水渠，污水渠和道路
and can increase the potential for flooding.
并能增加洪水的可能性。