The total water consumption of Beijing reached 3.48 billion cubic meters in 2007. Because of Olympic Games, the consumption increased by 1.2 billion cubic meters to 3.6 billion cubic meters in 2008. Of all, life-use water and agriculture-use water occupied large proportions, 42% and 35% respectively.

The total drinking water consumption of Beijing equaled 7.95 million tons in 2008. As for packaging modes, barreled water was more popular, and more than 50% of families bought water dispensers. Barreled water has become the major source of drinking water and reached 3,395,000 tons. Bottled water and tap water amounted to 2.075 million tons and 2.48 million tons.

According to the nature of water, drinking water can be divided into mineral water and pure water. In Beijing, mineral water occupies a larger share in bottled water market, while pure water accounts for a greater share in barreled water market. In sales price, barreled mineral water is more expensive than barreled pure water by RMB 2 on average, which is one of reasons for why consumers would like to choose barreled pure water. On the other hand, barreled pure water is more suitable for brewing a variety of beverage, such as tea and coffee, so pure water is more popular.