A River of Hope

As the sun dips below the hori- zon， fishing boats heavy with the day’s catch head towards shore across the waters of Danjiangkou Reservoir in Xichuan County， Henan Province. Local fishermen rise with the sun and head home at dusk， soaking up life from waters bestowed by Mother Nature. Meanwhile， hundreds of miles away in northern China， particularly the national capital， the drought situation looks as grim as ever.

Across China’s vast territory， the north tends to lack water while the south sees excessive rainfall. The Yangtze River basin and regions to its south are home to 80 percent of the country’s water resources， while northern China accounts for only one fourteenth. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project was launched to bring some balance， aiming to borrow water from the humid southern regions for the comparatively dry northern regions. After five decades of surveying and research， the project finally broke ground on December 27， 2002. According to its overall plan， the project will move 44.8 billion cubic meters of fresh water annually， a volume equivalent to the annual flow of the Yellow River， through three canal systems. After one canal is completed at the end of 2014， water from Danjiangkou Reservoir will flow north to Beijing’s Tuanjie Lake. Still， planners must devise how to protect water from pollution during the trip， not to mention ensure the project doesn’t negatively impact the regional climate and environment and create possibly greater problems for future generations. These concerns have become top priorities for affected residents， as well as the project’s designers and builders.

“We don’t want to see a drop of polluted water finding its way into sources including Danjiangkou Reservoir， nor the project’s canal systems，” asserts Wang Guangqian， a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who was born near Danjiangkou Reservoir and contributed research to the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. He points out that the environmental issues that the project faces mirror some of the major challenges currently hindering China’s development. The primary goal of the project is to relieve the water shortage in northern China. The project itself creates a massive ecological shift， so protection of the affected ecosystem must be a fundamental precondition and guiding principle.

Removal of Polluting Enterprises

In 2006， the State Council of China approved the Plan for Water Pollution Prevention and Water and Soil Conservation in Danjiangkou Reservoir and Its Upstream Area. Since the implementation of the plan， Henan， Hubei， and Shaanxi provinces and relevant State Council departments have taken effective measures to improve the water quality of Danjiangkou Reservoir and some rivers feeding it.

Hanzhong， Ankang， and Shangluo in southern Shaanxi Province provide 70 percent of water channeled through the central route of the project. Mines and foundries in southern Shaanxi Province， the primary source area， were shut down to prevent water pollution despite the fact that such enterprises were the foundation of the local economy. According to Zhang Weiguo， mayor of Shiyan City， Hubei Province， the city closed 329 polluting enterprises and relocated another 125.

“Since 2003， Henan has closed several turmeric plants and vanadium mining enterprises in Xichuan County， where the sources feeding the canal are located， as well as other enterprises that could cause water contamination，” adds Wang Xiaoping， director of Henan Provincial Department of Water Resources and Henan South-to-North Water Diversion Office.

Xichuan Tailong Paper Co.， Ltd.， was once the largest paper producer in south-western Henan Province. The company was closed in December 2004 to protect the water quality of source areas. In the following few years， 338 papermaking and metallurgical enterprises were shut down in Xichuan County. The county conducted environment impact assessments of more than 400 enterprises along the primary canal route and rejected 200 new industrial projects due to pollution risks.

The Water Diversion Project has already washed away a number of highpolluting enterprises and substantially improved the local ecology. The water quality of Danjiangkou Reservoir has met the National Grade-2 Drinking Water Standard for six successive years. This year， it will meet the National Grade-1 Drinking Water Standard. In December 2013， the bar-tailed godwit， a water bird that is extremely picky about water quality， was seen in Danjiangkou Reservoir after many years of absence.

Change of Traditional Farming

In addition to improving local ecosystems， the South-to-North Water Diversion Project also pushed affected regions to upgrade their industrial structures.

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural production could wash into feeders， and non-centralized pollution is harder to manage than industrial pollution. To solve the problem， local farmers were urged to change their agricultural products.

The area surrounding Danjiangkou Reservoir is ideal for cultivating tea trees. The local government offers three-year financial subsidies to tea plantations bigger than 6.7 hectares， and integrates water conservation， agriculture and poverty relief projects to encourage the development of the tea industry. Moreover， it encourages local farmers to grow medical herbs such as honeysuckle because such plants need only non-toxic fertilizers that don’t pollute. Pomegranates became another mainstay product in areas around the reservoir. Roots of pomegranate trees help prevent water loss and soil erosion. Local farmers primarily use organic fertilizers， thus reducing the influx of ammonia into Danjiangkou Reservoir and helping maintain its water quality.

Xixia County is another important water supplier to Danjiangkou Reservoir. The county’s Guanhe and Qihe rivers are major feeders. According to Han Guoyin， director of Xixia County South-to-North Water Diversion Office， in recent years the county mobilized local farmers to plant cash crops such as kiwi instead of grains such as wheat and corn and promoted ecoagriculture integrating animal husbandry， compost fertilizer， orchids， and forestry to reduce water pollution caused by chemical fertilizers.

Moreover， the local government invested more than 400 million yuan to plant forests around Danjiangkou Reservoir， creating a three-dimensional ecological shelter protecting nearby mountains and riverbeds. Presently， 53 percent of areas around the reservoir are covered by forest.

Residents living near water sources of the Water Diversion Project have made tremendous sacrifices for ecological security. Compensation for ecological protection primarily comes from the central government， which allocates 2 billion yuan annually to support local industrial restructuring and wastewater treatment projects in Hubei， Henan and Shaanxi provinces. Zhang Jiyao， deputy director of the Resources and Environment Commission of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， believes that in addition to existing governmental compensation mechanisms， the country should compensate source areas of the Water Diversion Project through the market. “For example， due to the healthy ecology around Danjiangkou Reservoir， local pollution-free agricultural products should be available in supermarkets in Beijing，” he illustrates. “Negotiated compensation mechanisms should be written into the Environmental Protection Law and the Regulations on Water Pollution Prevention. The government should encourage a wide variety of market-oriented ecological compensation mechanisms.”