Time to take stake in water

From the highest levels of government to the homes of residents, the future of China's water needs is at a turning point.

Already, some of the most groundbreaking moves are being undertaken to plug shortages of the life-giving resource in the country.

The south-to-north water diversion project is channeling water from the Yangtze River to the arid north through three waterways stretching 1,300km each. By 2050, the $70 billion endeavor is expected to serve 300 million people in a dozen provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions who lack adequate water supplies.