China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project Surpasses 90 Billion Cubic Meters

The first phase of the eastern and middle routes of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred more than 90 billion cubic meters of water to date, according to official data released by the Ministry of Water Resources and China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation. The middle route accounted for over 80.05 billion cubic meters, while the eastern route delivered more than 9.95 billion cubic meters, marking a major milestone in China's inter-basin water reallocation strategy.

Passing the 90 billion cubic meter mark underscores the mega-engineering project's central role in sustaining municipal water supplies, agricultural activities, and industrial centers across northern China, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The volume transferred reflects ongoing reliance on massive inter-basin redistribution to offset structural regional water deficits.

The first phase of the eastern and middle routes of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred more than 90 billion cubic meters of water, according to data released by the Ministry of Water Resources and the state-owned China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation. Of the total volume recorded as of August 10, the first phase of the middle route accounted for the vast majority of water delivered, transferring over 80.05 billion cubic meters. The first phase of the eastern route transferred more than 9.95 billion cubic meters, Xinhua News Agency reported. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project is one of the world's most extensive water transfer systems, engineered to channel water from the Yangtze River basin to the arid, densely populated plains and economic hubs of northern China. The middle route channels water directly from the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, northwards across Henan and Hebei provinces to reach Beijing and Tianjin. The eastern route utilizes the Grand Canal corridor and a series of pumping stations to lift water northward from the lower reaches of the Yangtze in Jiangsu Province toward Shandong Province. Passing the 90-billion-cubic-meter threshold highlights the continuous operational role the system plays in China's national water network. The diverted water serves as a vital lifeline for drinking water supplies in major northern metropolises, supports local manufacturing and agriculture, and contributes to ecological replenishment aimed at reversing decades of severe groundwater over-extraction. As water demand remains elevated across northern provinces, state planners are continuing work on follow-up expansions and inter-basin connectivity projects to further stabilize water supply security in the face of ongoing climate and regional ecological pressures.