Rumors over water project destructive
The South-North Water Diversion Project is expected to begin supplying water to Beijing by the end of this week, but rumors are doing the rounds that the capital may have to wait longer for water from South China because the central route canal has frozen.
In a widely circulated blog posting, an "observer" claims to have noticed the "slow flow" in the central route canal, saying this could prevent water from reaching the capital in winter. The "observer" also says silting could damage the canal.
The blogger's claims are absurd, to say the least. The blog posting says the central canal will transfer water at the rate of 22.4 cubic meters per second, or one-tenth of the designed capacity, because a China Central Television news video shows a Rubber Duck moving 10 centimeters per second in its water.
