South–North Water Transfer Project
The South–North Water Transfer Project, also translated as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (Chinese: 南水北调工程; pinyin: Nánshuǐ Běidiào Gōngchéng) is a multi-decade infrastructure mega-project in the People's Republic of China. Ultimately it aims to channel 44.8 billion cubic meters of fresh water annually from the Yangtze River in southern China to the more arid and industrialized north through three canal systems:
Mao Zedong had discussed the idea for a mass engineering project as an answer to China's water problems as early as 1952. He reportedly said, "there's plenty of water in the south, not much water in the north. If at all possible; borrowing some water would be good." The complete project was expected to cost $62 billion – more than twice as much as the Three Gorges Dam. By 2014, more than $79 billion had been spent, making it one of the most expensive engineering projects in the world.
The Eastern Route Project (ERP) consists of an upgrade to the Grand Canal, and will be used to divert a fraction of the total flow of the Yangtze River to Northern China. According to Chinese hydrologists, the entire flow of the Yangtze at the point of its discharge into the East China Sea is, on average, 956 km3 per year; the annual flow does not fall below around 600 km3 per year even in driest years. As the project progresses, the amount of water to be diverted to the north will increase from 8.9 km3/year to 10.6 km3/year to 14.8 km3/year.
Water from the Yangtze River will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu, where a giant 400 m³/s (12.6 billion m3/year if operated continuously) pumping station was built in the 1980s. The water will then be pumped by stations along the Grand Canal and through a tunnel under the Yellow River and down an aqueduct to reservoirs near Tianjin. Construction on the Eastern route began officially on December 27, 2002, and water was expected to reach Tianjin by 2012. However, in addition to construction delays, water pollution has affected the viability of the route. Initially the route was expected to provide water for the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei, with trial operations to begin in mid-2013. As of early 2013, no date has been set when water will reach Tianjin. Tianjin is expected to receive 1 billion m3/year. The Eastern route is not expected to supply Beijing which is to be supplied by the central route.
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