What does the South-to-North Water Transfer mean?

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project is a major strategic project to transport a part of the abundant water resources in the Yangtze River basin of China to North China and Northwest China, thus changing the situation that China is flooded in the south and drought in the north, and the water resources in the north are seriously short, and promoting the coordinated development of economy, society, population, resources and environment in the north and south of China. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project has three water diversion routes: East, Middle and West.

Middle route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project

The Master Plan of South-to-North Water Transfer Project recommends three water transfer routes: the eastern route, the middle route and the western route. Through the connection of three water transfer lines with the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River and the Haihe River, the overall layout with "four horizontals and three verticals" as the main body is formed, which is conducive to realizing the rational allocation pattern of water resources in China.

According to the later scale of Danjiangkou Reservoir, the water regulation of the middle route project is completed, and the normal water storage level is below1.70m. Considering the development level in 2020, some compensation projects need to be done in the middle and lower reaches of Hanjiang River. After ensuring the industrial and agricultural development, shipping and environmental water consumption in the transferred area, the average adjustable water volume for many years is1410.40 billion cubic meters, which is about 65% of the normal dry year.

The water supply scope is mainly in the western and central parts of Tangbaihe Plain and North China Plain, with a total water supply area of about 6,543,800+0,550 km2. Due to the limited amount of water diverted from the Hanjiang River, it can not meet the water demand requirements of the planned water supply area, and can only be mainly used for urban life and industrial water in five provinces and cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan and Hubei, taking into account agricultural and other water use in some areas.