United Press International reports that, “China’s $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project is forcing the relocation of 330,000 people and may not even deliver clean water. The system, designed to supply 45 trillion gallons of water for hundreds of millions of people in Beijing and drought-prone northern China by 2030, involves a mix of canals, tunnels and aqueducts spanning thousands of miles across the country.”
“China’s current total water shortage is around 1.5 trillion gallons, equal to three times the annual water supply of New York City, says China’s NDTV. Annual water demand in Beijing is expected to swell to 1.1 trillion gallons by 2020, city government estimates indicate.”
“Wang Shushan, who is in charge of the South-North diversion project in Henan province, where most of the construction is now focused, compared the massive endeavor to China’s Great Wall, saying it is ‘essential for the survival of China,’ the Los Angeles Times reports.”
The Mother Nature Network reports that, “Opponents point out that the government is robbing the rest of China to supply Beijing. The ecological effect of diverting all this water on wildlife and land will be immense. Others point out that the water they are diverting is too polluted for the project to be a success. In fact, much of the project bypasses existing rivers which are far too polluted to be used for drinking water.”
The UPI article is at http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/09/30/China-water-diversion-project-poses-risks/UPI-84741285875588/. The Mother Nature Network report is at http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/china-undertakes-enormous-project-to-transport-clean-wate.
