Water drip irrigation project improves water conservancy in Xinjiang

The first drip irrigation water well commenced operations in Huocheng county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on April 27, marking the county’s trial operation of the drip irrigation project.

The county has stepped up the construction and development of its conservation work in recent years with the aim of saving water and increasing grain yields, according to local authorities. Huocheng has set aside more than 16.77 million yuan into the construction of water conservancy works. The project is expected to build 27 irrigation systems in the towns of Sandaohe and Lucaogou. Construction is expected to be fully completed by May 31, at which time it will be able to provide drip irrigation for more than 1,333 hectares of farmland.

The water retention project includes the construction of an electromechanical water well, fertilizer equipment and drip irrigation piping. So far, 157 catch pits have been made available for locals to use.

Attendees of the trial operation included vice county chiefs Huang Zhibing and Xu Lei.

Huocheng country invested more than 20 million yuan into a water retention project in 2014. The funds included 6 million yuan from the Xinjiang government, with the remainder coming from the county. The county built 10 basins, 10 km of channels, and 204 km of drip irrigation piping last year; more effort will be put into developing the water retention in the future.

Edited by Jacob Hooson