The South North Water Diversion Project was the largest water resource allocation project in China, but also became the largest project in the world ever since. The goal was to resolve the long-standing water shortage problem faced by the northern region (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, part of Henan and Jiangsu). The project was divided into two routes: east and middle routes (the west route was not decided and was not built at the time). It used existing canals or built new aquaduct to send an abundant amount of water from the Yangtze River Basin to the Yellow River plain, Huai River plain, and Hai River plain. The construction started in 2002 and completed in 2014. The total amount of water transferred has exceeded 80 billion cubic meters (in comparison, the yearly average water flow in Yellow River is about 58 billion cubic meters). It benefits about 185 million people. The water has become an important water source for more than 40 cities in the north.
The eastern route used the existing Grand Canal, water was reverse-flowed from Yangtze up the mountain to the north to supply Shandong, part of Hebei, and Tianjin. The main problem was to purify the polluted rivers and lakes in northern Jiangsu and Shandong areas. The route is also used for river traffic. The central route started from Danjiangkou in Hubei. A new aqueduct was built using gravity feed to send water to part of Henan, Hebei, and Beijing. The main problem was to build an entirely new aqueduct (1430 kilometer long) and reallocate about 346,000 people along the route.
The project has completely eliminated the water shortage in the north. It also promotes economic prosperity in the areas along the route. The areas have GDP growth of more than 16 trillion yuan (2 trillion dollars) per year. By optimizing water resource allocation, the project not only solved the water problem, but also promoted regional development and ecological protection. It became a landmark project for China’s water resource allocation.
