Long March of Water

By+Yuan+Yuan

The south-to-north water diversion project， which has been under construction since the early 2000s， has finally seen the completion of its first phase. People in Beijing and some other dry areas in north China will finally be able to drink water from the yangtze River.

This project is the largest of its kind in the world and it is designed to take water from the countrys longest river to dry areas in the countrys north. The project is another gargantuan feat of engineering， in the style of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal， the longest man-made waterway in the world， constructed in the 13th century to transport grain between the north and south of China.

The project is divided into three routes： eastern， middle and western. The construction of the eastern route started in 2002， with the middle following in 2003. Construction of the western route is yet to begin.

Upon completion， the project is expected to divert up to 44.8 billion cubic meters of water per year to more than 10 provinces and municipalities， benefiting nearly 100 million people. Up to 600，000 jobs are also expected to be created. By 2050， as many as 440 million people will benefit from the project.

Project in function

The project was approved by the State Council in December 2002， after nearly half a century of debate. The affected area covers a vast area of 1.45 million square km， which accounts for roughly 15 percent of Chinas land. It runs across the watershed of Chinas four major rivers—the yangtze River， the Huaihe River， the yellow River and the Haihe River—with more than 10 provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities involved.

Due to the length of the water diversion line and the large area covered， this effort involves a broad range of engineering techniques， such as the construction of reservoirs， lakes， canals， watercourses， dams， pumping stations， tunnels， aqueducts， culverts， inverted siphons， PCCP pipelines， channels and many more.

The first-stage project of the eastern route went into operation in 2013， sending water to east Chinas Shandong Province.

The middle route is the most attentiongrabbing of the three routes due to its role in feeding water to the national capital. The main canal of the middle route is 1，432 km in length， featuring a 1，196.36-km-long open channel.

The first stage of the middle route aims to pump almost 9.5 billion cubic meters of water—one sixth the volume of the yellow River—every year to the countrys parched north， including more than 20 major cities， through canals and pipes from the Danjiangkou Reservoir， located at the junction of Hubei and Henan provinces.

Beijing is among the northern cities plagued by water shortages. The capital city has per capita water resources of less than 100 cubic meters， far below the 500 cubic meters which is considered an acute water shortage by international standards.

On December 12， 2014， over 1，400 km of canal and pipeline began carrying water from the yangtze to the north. Completion of the scheme has been a major victory for the whole project.

President xi Jinping sent his congratulations to workers and people who have made contributions to the middle route project. He said the success has come through ceaseless effort by hundreds of thousands of people.

Beijings neighboring province Hebei will also benefit from this project with the supply of more than 3 billion cubic meters of water annually to the province.

“It will alleviate the water shortage in Hebei and help promote sustainable development in the local society and economy，” said Zhang Qingwei， Governor of Hebei Province.

A thirsty city

Beijing needs at least 3.6 billion cubic meters of water a year to supply its 20 million residents and to keep local businesses running， but its own water supply was only 2.1 billion cubic meters annually in the past decade.“The city is facing a severe water crisis，” said xu xinyi， a water conservancy specialist with Beijing Normal University. “Its like five people stuffed into a room designed for two.”

The gap in Beijings water supply is filled by ground water and water diverted from nearby provinces.

As a result of over-exploitation， Beijings underground water level has declined by 12.8 meters from its 1998 levels. “The chain reaction has included land subsidence and vegetation damage，” said Zhang Tong， Deputy President of Beijing Institute of Water. “A strong gale this summer felled more than 5，000 trees.”

Pumping yangtze water is an effective way to ease Beijings water crisis. “About half of the water Beijingers consume used to come from underground，” said Zhang. “With yangtze water diverted to Beijing， underground water will make up only 30 percent of total consumption.”

This， Zhang said， will ease the pressure on Beijings environment and prevent underground water levels from dropping too fast.

In Beijing， more than 60 percent of the annual water consumption comes from underground water. The other 40 percent comes from rivers and reservoirs. Underground water will continue to supply 50 percent of Beijings water when the diverted water arrives in the city.

The level of the water table is around 24.5 meters and is 12.83 meters lower than in 1998. The volume of water in the water table has decreased by 6.57 billion cubic meters， according to the Beijing Water Authority.

The yangtze water will make up a third of Beijings total supply and will hopefully narrow the huge gap between its annual water demand and supply. With yangtze water piped in， Beijing will have 150 cubic meters per person， an increase of 50 percent， according to figures provided by the Beijing Water Authority.

Moving for the project

Zhao Qingxian never thought he would have to move his whole family in 2009.

Zhao used to run a restaurant in Liujialou village， Nanyang， Henan Province， which is located right at the bank of Danjiangkou Reservoir. The business was very good and Zhao could make half a million yuan from the restaurant each year.

“Ive been living in the village for more than 50 years and life there was easy and stable，” said Zhao. “So at first， I couldnt accept moving for the project.”

Zhaos unwillingness became further entrenched after he visited the new location.“Im used to life near water and the new location had no water at all， so I thought ‘How could we make a living？”

Many other villagers had the same concern. Liujialou is the richest village in Nanyang and many villagers made a living from fishing or the restaurant industry. Before the move， the local government took them to yangling in Shaanxi Province to teach them the skills for planting fruit trees.

Zhao took this advice and started the fruit tree plantation with several other villagers. Now his business is even more successful than his former restaurant. But Zhao would still visit the former village occasionally. “It holds all my memories，” said Zhao.

Ye Mingcheng， a 58-year-old fish farmer from Hubei Province， also had mixed feelings about the Danjiangkou Dam.

As a fish farmer， Ye could earn 200，000 yuan （$31，746） annually and owned a big house. But for this project， he had to move and gave up his net， cages and fish， which are worth 3.5 million yuan （$564，516）.

To make up for yes loss， the local government gave him a two-story building. He also received compensation for the 120 net cages， each worth 1，000 yuan （$161） to 1，800 yuan （$290）.

Over 400，000 people were relocated， including 345，000 people whose home-town was submerged under the massive Danjiangkou Reservoir and more than 2，000 factories closed， according to Zhang Jiyao， Director of the Office of the South-toNorth Water Diversion Project Commission（SNWDPC）.

“Among the 43 counties in Hubei and Henan affected by the project， 34 are im- poverished，” he said. “The decision to move people away from their homes and livelihoods was often the most difficult to make.”

The challenges

With the new waterway come new challenges， such as protection of water quality and unforeseen natural risks in the future.

The project runs past more than 1，000 bridges. “If pollutants fall into the water from passing vehicles， we could shut the sluice gate， but then the question is how to clean the water without contaminating the local environment？” said xu xinyi， head of the College of Water Sciences under Beijing Normal University.

Another problem is the lack of a proper sewage plant. Danjiangkou Reservoir is under the administration of Shiyan， Hubei Province， where 90 percent of the townships and villages cannot provide enough funding for sewage plants. They also have trouble attracting the right talent to do the job.

Beijing is also capping 4，216 dry wells to prevent pollution， local authorities said. These wells can no longer provide water due to the fall in the level of the water table.

More than 3，000 of them have been filled with concrete or covered with iron plates and all of them will be shut by the end of 2015， said Wang Wei， an official with the Beijing Water Authority.

“The capping of wells will cut the channels of sewage and waste polluting the underground water and reduce the pollution risk for major water sources and protect the drinking water supply，” he said.

The environmental protection bureau of central Chinas Henan Province said on December 14 that the provinces 12 cities， including the provincial capital of Zhengzhou， have started testing the quality of water diverted from the south.

Water temperature， pH value， and the index of chemical composition such as dissolved oxygen， ammonia nitrogen and permanganate are to be tested. So far， there have been no reported problems in Henan， said Zhou Wenxian of the provincial environmental protection bureau.

Areas along the route have emergency response mechanisms. If the water in the trunk channel is found to be polluted， it will be diverted.

“The water diversion project is by no means a final solution to ease Beijings water shortage，” said Sun Guosheng， chief of Beijings Office of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project， in an interview with xinhua News Agency.

Sun said the government should use the price leverage to encourage the public to save water. “To save is to survive，” he said.“Individuals and businesses should all use the tap sparingly， and heavy fines should be levied for wasting water.”

“Despite all these efforts， easing the drought in Beijing and north China in general requires the public to use water more efficiently，”said xu of Beijing Normal University.

“Most Beijing residents are unaware of the citys water shortages，” said xu. “Its important to raise public awareness of water conservation and promote water-saving household appliances.”

“Hundreds of thousands of peoples sacrifice and work for the project to alleviate water shortage in the arid north and the better use of the water is crucial for the countrys sustainable development，” said Jiang xuguang， Deputy Director of SNWDPC.