China South-north Water Diversion Project

Every large city needs a constant supply of fresh water to satisfy its citizens Beijing is no different. Beijing is a city of approximately 16 million people and growing rapidly current projections estimate that by 2010 there will be over 17 million residents. While normally news about a city expanding is met with enthusiasm Beijing water supply can only support about 14 million. Complicating the matter is the fact that Beijing is in the dry north and the surrounding province of Hebei has been locked in a drought since 1999; since that time, the region has only received about 75 percent of the anticipated precipitation.

Northern China the industrial heart of the nation, has a much lower rainfall than the southern reaches of China and its rivers are beginning to run dry. Over the past 20 years the Yellow River has often gone dry in its lower reaches and some smaller rivers are now dried out most of the year. Beijing has worked with Hebei Province to supply the city with water, but there just isnt enough water to be had. In fact, areas of Hebei are showing evidence of subsidence due to the drain on groundwater reserves. At the heart of the problem is that the entire region is historically dry. Mao once noted, "Southern water is plentiful, northern water scarce.

Long Term Vision

Beijing has long been aware of the critical need to supply its growing population. Beijing undertook a massive water project called the South to North Water Diversion Project. First envisioned in the 1950 the project was started a few years ago it is estimated that the project will complete in 2050. The project is divided into three major routes, the Eastern Route the Central Route and the Western Route.

The projects eastern route, diverting water northward from the Yangtze River through a tunnel burrowed beneath the Yellow River will see an expansion of the 1,600-km Imperial Grand Canal at the culmination of the project, the Grand Canal will be the worlds longest aqueduct. The 1,200-km-long central route will also tunnel under the Yellow River. The most ambitious part of this project is to divert river waters cascading from the Tibetan highlands. This is a technically challenging phase and it includes a series of canals and tunnels along a 1,215-km route bisecting the eastern Tibetan Plateau to connect the upper reaches of the Yangtze with the upper reaches of the Yellow. The tunnels would have to be cut through the earthquake-prone Bayankala Mountains.

In the Tibetan plateau, China South-North Project calls initially for building 300 km of tunnels and channels to draw waters from the Jinsha, Yalong and Dadu rivers, located on the eastern rim of the plateau. The possible diversion of the Brahmaputra waters northward is to come later. The idea of diverting portions of the Brahmaputra is controversial - this may adversely affect the dry-season availability of Brahmaputra waters downstream in India and Bangladesh while increasing wet-season flooding.

It would appear that China has an ambitious plan to quench the thirst of its people but it also appears that China must work with its neighbors to the south and west so that an equitable and sustainable agreement can be reached. If such an agreement were reached, it would certainly be historic and could lead to the long term prosperity of the entire region.