South-North Water Transfer Project

The Chinese government is building a $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project (see map). The project would divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water per year from the Yangtze River in southern China to the Yellow River Basin in arid northern China. This is equivalent to nearly half the amount of water consumed in California annually. It will also displace 300,000 people, a third of whom would be moved due to the raising of the height of the Dang Jiang Kou dam.

The project is being built in an attempt to curb over-withdrawal of groundwater and to supply more water to industry, cities, and China's breadbasket in the north. The government plans to complete the Eastern and Central Routes by 2010 and the controversial Western Route by 2050. Climate change, water pollution, and recent droughts in Hebei Province are exerting huge pressures on major northern cities such as Beijing and Tianjin.

Many are concerned, however, that the project could exacerbate water pollution problems. Pollution from factories along the Eastern Route may render the water unfit to drink. Meanwhile, the diversion of water from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River is likely to exacerbate pollution problems on the Yangtze - problems that have worsened since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Some experts argue that conservation and increasing water use efficiency can help mitigate China's water problems without jeopardizing the environment.

To read more about the South-North Water Transfer Project, click here.

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