China controls some of the largest rivers in Asia, experiences heavy rain and has vast stores of water locked in glaciers in the west. But despite these abundant resources, China has a water problem. While central and southern regions are quenched by massive rivers like the Yangtze, the northeastern megacities like Beijing and Tianjin have endured serious water scarcity as agriculture, industry and population size rapidly increased.
Called the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP), the vast system of canals, pipes, dams, reservoirs and pumps moves staggering amounts of water via two routes through central and eastern China.
The Hongze Station on the eastern route of the South-North Water Transfer Project in Huai 'an City, China. (Image credit: CFOTO via Getty Images)But even this is not enough to satisfy the water needs in the North: China is currently expanding these routes and is planning a third, western route for the project, which would snake through the Tibetan Plateau before feeding the water-parched north and east. The route is attractive to Chinese officials because the river-and-glacier-threaded plateau, dubbed the Water Tower of Asia, has abundant water resources and is the source of numerous major rivers.
The huge plan is "unbelievable," Mark Wang, a professor of human geography at the University of Melbourne, told Live Science. "The proposals [have] underestimated the negative impacts — environmental, earthquakes, evaporation and economic cost," as well as the international impacts, Wang added.
The Danjiangkou reservoir was expanded to supply the Central route, which flows to Beijing. (Image credit: silkwayrain via Getty Images)
The motivation for this project is obvious: China must support nearly 20% of the world's population with just 6% of its freshwater reserves. And this water is not distributed evenly across the country. Northern China has nearly half of the country's population and more than half of its agriculture but just one-fifth of the country's freshwater reserves.
Water transfer
China has a long history of rerouting water to serve its needs. Parts of the eastern route, for instance, use the Grand Canal, which was first built in the fifth century B.C.
"Control of water has been a key theme in Chinese history and mythology," Tom Harper, a lecturer at the University of East London specializing in Chinese foreign policy and international relations, told Live Science.
Map showing the two completed routes and the official plan for the western route. (Image credit: Zhang et al. (2022): CC BY 4.0)This water needs to travel 213 feet (65 m) uphill, meaning pumping stations have to raise the water along the route.
The Danjiangkou Reservoir already existed before the commencement of the project, but it was significantly expanded to raise the water level — and required 350,000 people to be relocated as a result.
The Chinese government and many Chinese scientists have boasted that the project has increased the water supply to people in northern China, raised the groundwater table in northern regions, and increased economic activity and agriculture in the region.
"These were reservoirs, these were rivers, these were groundwater resources that had severe pollution impacts," Darrin Magee, a dam expert at Western Washington University, told Live Science. "So in the south where we had abundant water resources, the quality tended to be very bad in some areas."
Along the eastern route, "pollution was terrible," Wang noted. "The central government put in a lot of effort… and they have control of the pollution again in a short period of time," he noted, adding that the water quality has significantly improved along the routes.
"When the South-North Water Transfer was being proposed, many, many Chinese scientists were also against it because you just create lots and lots of new problems, whatever you fix," Emily Yeh, a professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder who specializes in Tibet, told Live Science. "Why not conserve water instead?"
If China's "first priority is conservation, you won't need a large-scale, world's largest mega project," Wang said. Chinese authorities seem to be realizing this. They're also attempting large-scale water conservation policies, Wang said.
The SNWTP's sources, particularly along the Han River, have less water per capita than the world's average, so siphoning off large amounts of the river's water could severely strain local areas. This has become such a problem that Chinese authorities are now undertaking even more engineering projects to alleviate the problem caused by the SNWTP. For instance, a new, smaller diversion is being added near the Danjiangkou reservoir, because people downstream are not getting sufficient water, Wang said.
The project is "a fix to fix the fix to fix the fix," environmental researcher Stevan Harrell wrote in the Made in China Journal — emphasizing the ever-growing number of engineering projects to deal with poor water governance.
Western route
The SNWTP's planned western route through the Tibetan Plateau won't start operations until at least 2050, but since its earliest planning stages, it has been mired in controversy.
The Tibetan Plateau's high, rugged and earthquake-prone landscape creates numerous challenges to potential infrastructure projects (Image credit: primeimages via Getty Images)
The construction of such a massive project is fraught with difficulty. The Tibetan Plateau rises 10,000 to 15,000 feet (3,000 to 4,500 m) above sea level. These high altitudes present several problems, such as challenges in construction and maintenance, and difficulties in preventing water from freezing.
The Tibetan Plateau is very seismically active, meaning earthquakes could lead to collapses or landslides, potentially damaging the vast infrastructure.
But China has not been deterred by these obstacles. The ongoing construction of the Dianzhong Water Diversion Project, in Yunnan province in southwest China, provides a test case for transferring water across mountainous, earthquake-prone landscapes. The damless design relies on a 380-mile-long (610 km) series of 58 tunnels, as well as pumps, to carry water through the mountainous and seismically active terrain. It is the "the world's longest water tunnel that could fit two high speed trains" and is "seen as a pilot demonstration project that will inspire and inform the design for the Western Routes," according to the Hong Kong-based think tank CWR. The first stage of the Dianzhong project is due for completion later this year, with a second phase recently announced.
A second controversial proposal, known as the Red Flag River project, suggests diverting 14 cubic miles (60 cubic km) of water 3,700 miles (6,000 km) from the Lancang, Nu and Yarlung Tsangpo rivers (called the Mekong, Salween and Brahmaputra rivers when they leave China) across the Tibetan Plateau to the northern Xinjiang region, which has high water stress and is facing desertification. Officials suggested the plan could turn Xinjiang into China's "California." The diverted water could also potentially be rerouted toward Beijing, experts told Live Science.
Science Spotlight(Image credit: Marilyn Perkins / Future)
Science Spotlight takes a deeper look at emerging science and gives you, our readers, the perspective you need on these advances. Our stories highlight trends in different fields, how new research is changing old ideas, and how the picture of the world we live in is being transformed thanks to science.
"There's a lot of concern that there might be water diversion, because China has been talking about this for many, many years," Tenzin Norgay, a researcher at the nonprofit organization International Campaign for Tibet, told Live Science. "If it happens, it's going to be a huge risk to downstream countries."
A changing climate
While China is forging ahead with attempts to redistribute China's water and reduce water scarcity via the SNWTP, climate change could scramble those plans. An increased risk of droughts over the coming decades could compromise the SNWTP's ability to move water.
"Short to medium term, [we'll] see an increase in runoff as melting begins earlier each year," Magee said. "But over the long term, decreased snowpack means less secure water resources for most of China."
Taming nature
Emily Yeh, professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder
When it comes to megaprojects, "If there's any country that will do it, it's China," Magee said. "The People's Republic of Engineers."
This is particularly true for the Tibetan Plateau. "The government is really imagining Tibet as a source of ecological service for the rest of the country," Yeh said.
Related storiesChina installs world's largest floating wind turbine in deep water test — it generates enough energy to power 4,200 homes annually
Other experts agreed that Chinese authorities typically take an engineering approach to attempt to manage nature.
"If you understand China's energy issues, you understand why China is doing this. If you understand the water and food security issues, you understand so many things China has done," Wang said.
Hence then, the article about if there s any country that will do it it s china why is china diverting some of the world s mightiest rivers thousands of miles was published today ( ) and is available on Live Science ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 'If there's any country that will do it, it's China': Why is China diverting some of the world's mightiest rivers thousands of miles? )
Also on site :