China's mega water diversion project benefits nearly 200m people

Official data released on Monday showed that the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has delivered more than 90 billion cubic meters of water.

Of that total, the middle route supplied 80 billion cubic meters, with the eastern route delivering nearly 10 billion cubic meters, according to the Ministry of Water Resources and the China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation.

The project currently operates along two primary arteries. The middle route, which draws from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in Hubei province and winds through Henan and Hebei provinces to supply Beijing and Tianjin, has been delivering water since December 12, 2014, marking the project's transition to full-scale, multi-route operations.

The eastern route, which transfers water from Jiangsu province to areas including Tianjin and Shandong province, went into operation in November 2013.

Since the project began full operation in 2014, it has helped optimize the north-south water resources allocation pattern and secured drinking, ecological and production water supplies along the route, supporting stable regional development, the China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation stressed in a media release on Monday.

The project has opened up interlinked water channels across regions and enabled coordinated allocation and joint supply from multiple water sources, it continued.

Since water diversion began, the release said the project has benefited 48 large and medium-sized cities and 195 million people along the route, significantly improving drinking water quality in northern China.

In Hebei's Heilonggang area, nearly 9 million residents have completely said farewell to high-fluoride and bitter-saline water, it noted.

Water supply security has improved markedly, the company emphasized. On the eastern route, water quality has remained stable at Grade III or above, while the water supply guarantee rate for cities in the receiving areas has risen from below 80 percent to 97 percent, benefiting more than 85 million people.

On the middle route, water quality has remained stable at Grade II or above, covering almost 118 million people, it said.

China has a five-tier surface water quality system, with Grade I being the highest. Water rated Grade III is good enough for the survival of most aquatic organisms.

The project has also played a crucial backstop role in flood prevention, drought relief and disaster mitigation, the release continued.

In 2014, it delivered 51.3 million cubic meters of emergency water to Pingdingshan, Henan province, easing a severe drought that hit the city's 1 million residents, the company noted. In 2024, it again supplied 19.96 million cubic meters during continued dry weather.