A population of more than 140 million people living in northern China directly benefited from a mass water fetching project. Officials announced on Thursday (September 9th) that as part of this project, water is drawn from major rivers in the south and pumped into the arid regions of the north.
Shi Chunxian, an official from the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the south-to-north water transport project diverted 46 billion cubic meters of water from the central and eastern channels towards the arid regions of the north. The project in question alleviated water scarcity in the north by supplying water to 40 districts of more than 280 medium-sized and large cities. Shi pointed out that the water supply project serves as a new lifeline for many cities.
On the other hand, the project also contributed to the improvement of local ecological conditions. Indeed, 6,4 billion cubic meters of water were used for ecological purposes along the central and eastern waterways. This, in turn, prevented the groundwater level from falling, as well as stopping the subsidence of the ground.
The project of directing the water from south to north was carried out in the context of three axes. The middle channel, which is the most important of the waterways as it contributes to the water supply of the capital, originates from the Danjiangkou basin in Hubei province and reaches Beijing and Tianjin after traversing Henan and Hebei. This road started to supply water in December 2014.
The eastern route was put into service in November 2013 and carried water to the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, adding reinforcements to areas such as Tianjin and Shandong. The western waterway, on the other hand, is still in the planning phase and has not entered the construction phase.
Source: China International Radio
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