1. China’s South-North Water Transfer

2. Timeline
1952: Mao Zedong, leader of the Communist Revolution proposes water diversion project to divert water
December 27, 2002: Construction of the South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) begins with the Eastern Route
November 26, 2004: Chinese Communist Party authorizes the Middle Route Project
Construction on the Middle Route begin
2010: Target Year for construction of the Western Route

3. SNWTP Master Plan Three Water Routes: Eastern Route Middle Route
Purpose:
To divert water from the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River to the north and northwest of China via the Huang, Huai, and Hai Rivers
By 2050, 48 billion cu. m of water per year will be diverted to north and northwest China in three stages; this is enough water to keep NY going for 25 years
1. Eastern Route: 15 billion cu. m
2. Middle Route: 13 billion cu. m
3. Western Route: 17 billion cu. m
Cost: US $58 Billion, more than twice the Three Gorges Dam Project
Time-Frame: Completion by 2050

6. Precipitation Variability
Large portion of east China and most of South China under the influence of the east Asian monsoon rains
Average annual precipitation is ~6,000 cubic km; average annual depth is 630mm
World continental average: 800mm/yr
Asia average: 740mm/yr
The Huang-Huai-Hai plain has the highest rates of variability in precipitation, according to geography and season
1) Geographical Variation
Precipitation decreases moving from south to north and from southeast to northwest
Middle and lower portion of the Changjiang He receives upward of 1100mm/yr
Area east of the Huai averages 900mm/yr of rainfall
Northwest receives mm of rain annually

7. 2) Seasonal Variation
Spring (March to May)
Little rainfall
South of Huai He receives 150+ mm/yr of rain; more than 20% of annual total
North of Huai He gets a few dozen mm of rain per year; accounts for 15% of annual
Summer (June – August)
Heaviest rainfall in the form of storms occurs in the summer
Summer rainfall determines water surplus or deficiency
South of the Huai He, summer rainfall accounts for 40-50% of total annual precipitation
North of the Huai He, summer rainfall is 60-75% of total annual precipitation
Autumn is drier than spring in most places
Winter is the driest season, with cold dry air blowing in from Siberia

8. Temperature Variability
Temperatures rise from northwest to southeast
North of the Huai He, temperatures rise rapidly in the spring and drop quickly in the autumn
Mean temperature of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain is 11º to 16ºC higher in May than in March and is 10º to 12ºC lower in October than in August
The seasonal rise and fall in temperature is more sudden than in areas south of the Chang Jiang
Annual duration of sunshine is longer, increasing from southeast to northwest, which is opposite of temperature distribution.
On the Hai He plain, the sunshine can be more than 2,800 hours per year
Evaporation varies from 700 to 900 mm per year; in most parts of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, it exceeds 800mm/yr

9. The Good? Favorable sunshine conditions, quick rise in temperatures and low relative humidity in the spring benefit crop growth
The Bad? High Evaporation, Low Precipitation, and High Variability of Precipitation with Season and Year
The Ugly? Successive spring droughts and summer storms lead to flooding

10. Land and Water Resources in Major Rivers Basins of China

11. Water Supply-Demand Situation and Water Deficit Volume in China by Region

12. Water Withdrawal by Sector, 1993
Total: cu km

13. Dire Shortage of Water
China’s annual per capita water supply is only 2,200 cu m, 25% of global average, according to the World Bank; by 2030, the government estimates water supply person will fall below 1,700 cu m
In the same time frame, water demand is expected to more than triple, from 120 billion tons per year to 400 billion tons
Last year, China consumed four times as much water for each 10,000 yuan ($1200) of GDP compared with the world average
Recent studies show that under the North China Plain, the water table has fallen five feet in five years
Wells near Beijing have to pump water from a depth of over 1,000 m

14. Distribution of Water Resources
Chiang Jiang is the largest river in China
Length: 6,300 km
Drainage Area: 1.8 x 10^6 sq km
Average Annual Run-off: 980 x 10^9 cu meters, 38% of national total
20 times greater than the Huang He, the second largest river
5,464 km long; Drainage Area: 0.75 x 10^6 sq km
Run-off: 48.6 x 10^9 cu m; 2.1% of national total
18 times greater than the Huai He
Main river is 1,000 km long; Drainage Area: 0.26 x 10^6 sq km
Run off: 53 x 10^9 cu m; accounts for 2.0% of national total
35 times great than the Hai He (& Luan He) basin, largest river in north China
Drainage Area: 0.31 x 10^6 sq km
Run-off: 28.3 x 10^9 cu m; accounts for 1.0% of national total

15. Distribution vs. Exploitation of Land and Water
Much water and little land in south China; much land and little water in north China
Estimated 870 billion cu. m of total fresh ground water resources annually
Exploited volume: ~290 billion cu. m
Salty groundwater amounts to 20 billion cu. m
Exploited volume: ~12billion cu. m
Changjiang He fluvial run-off accounts for 80% of national total with a farmland percentage of less than 40%
Huang He, Huai He and Hai He River Valleys account for 50% of land area, 45% of cultivated land area, 36% of population but 12% of water resources
North & northwest regions are abundant in land, mineral and other natural resources; constitute production bases of energy grain, cotton and oil

16. Agricultural Regions in China

18. Eastern Route Project: Piggybacking off Existing Structures
722 Miles; the least expensive and least complex segment of the project
Built on basis of existing water diversion structure in Jiangsu Province, the Beijing- Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Huai He harnessing project
Consists of water conveyance system, impounding project and power supply system
Three Phases
Phase I: Upgrade and extend the Grand Canal and other existing water resources infrastructure in Jiangsu Province to pump water from Jiangdu city on the Yangzi as far north as Dezhou City in northern Shandong Province by 2008
Water pumped along a 300-mile series of canals, rivers and lakes, most of which already exist
Reaches its highest point---40 meters higher than Jiangdu--- just a few miles south of Huang He
Extensive use of the original Grand Canal, a system of man-made canals and natural rivers that form a continuous waterway through Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei Provinces
Built in 470 AD during the Qi Dynasty

19. Eastern Route Project: Phases II & III
Phase II: Construction to enable water to flow downhill, underneath the Huang He , to Tianjin and Beijing by 2012
Tunnel under the Huang He will be the most technically challenging part of the route
Phase III: 430 Mile Branch line transfers water from Dongping Lake eastward to Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province and onward to Yantai and Weihai on the Shandong Peninsula

20. Water Conveyance System of the Eastern Route Canal
Diversion Channels
2 intakes: where the Huai He enters the Changjiang and where the Grand Canal crosses the Changjiang
Diversion channel: Changjiang-Tianjin canal (1,156 km)
Grand Canal will be the trunk channel
Pumping Stations
Water intakes are m lower than the Huang He
Several dozen pumping stations with a total lifting height of 65 m
Planned in 15 stages
Total installed capacity of ~1,000 MW; annual electricity consumption of 3,000,5000 Gwh
Characteristics:
Low lifting height (2-6 m)
Large flow rate (15-40 cu m/s for each unit)
Long operation time (5,000 hrs/yr)
Huang He Crossing Project
Huang He crossing section is 7,870 m long
1 inverted siphon of 585 m & 2 horizontal tunnels with diameter of 9.3 m and depth of 70m
Impounding Project
South of Huai He, 4 lakes will be used as impounding reservoirs with a total capacity of 4.89 billion cu m
North of Huai He, 3 existing reservoirs and 2 new reservoirs will have a total capacity of 1.49 billion cu. m

21. Central Route Canal: Big Construction Challenge
Unlike the pump-fed Eastern Route, this canal will be a brand-new facility
Entirely Gravity-Fed Canal
Will move 14 billion cu m of water per year from the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han River in Hubei Province all the way north to Beijing
Engineering challenge:
Building the tunnel under the Huang He
Keeping water moving along the long, gentle gradient of the route
Heightening the dam at Danjiangkou Reservoir
Will help prevent flooding in the middle and lower reaches of Hanjiang River
Will protect north Hanjiang River plain and Wuhan city
Non-Engineering Challenge
Resettlement of 320,000 people due to increase in size of the Danjiangkou Reservoir at the intake point and along the route
Each resident to receive US $5000 in compensation, equivalent to 6 years wages for a farmer
Regulating water intake in order to minimize the disruption of water transport, agriculture and industry downstream from the diversion site on the Han River (Yangzi tributary)

22. Scope of Central Route Canal
775 mile Central Route started in 2003; earmarked for completion in 2012
Projected Cost: US $10 billion
Mean Annual Water Quantity Transferred: 12 – 14 billion cu m (6.2 billion cu m in dry years)
Total Coverage Area: 155,000 sq km
Will alleviate water crisis in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Henan
Provide 6.4 billion cu m more water for urban and industrial use; 3 billion cu m for agricultural use
Will link up 4 major river basins, run across 205 medium and small rivers and 42 railways

23. Layout of Central Canal
Main structures consist of 2 major parts:
Hydraulic structures in the water source region
Danjiangkou Dam will be raised by 16m with a storage increment of 11.6 billion cu m billion cu m for regulation and 3.3 billion cu m for flood control
Construct and rehabilitate hydraulic projects on Hanjiang He such as sluices, pumping station and navigation-regulating works and a diversion project from Changjiang
Water Conveyance systems
Main trunk canal length of 1274 km
Path: Danjiangkou reservoir Huai He Basin Cross Huang He go between Taihang Mountain Cross Yongding River enter Beijing
Tianjin main canal runs from Hebei Province to Tianjin; 141 km long

24. Huang He Crossing Project
The most critical structure on the main trunk canal: aqueduct and inverted siphon
2 tunnels
Length: 7.2 km
Depth: 8.5 m
Design Flow Rate: 500 cu m/s

25. Western Route Canal: An Engineer’s Pipe Dream
Construction slated to being in 2010 at earliest
Preliminary cost estimates exceed US $37 billion, twice the cost of the Three Gorges Dam
Will transfer maximum of 20 billion cu m of water per year from upstream Changjiang He tributaries into the upper Huang He
Includes 10 billion cu m from Tongtian He, 5 billion cu m from Yalong Jiang and 5 billion cu m fro Dadu He
Will increase irrigation area by 2 million hectares
Will supply 9 billion cu m of domestic and industrial water

26. Layout of Western Canal Route
Logistics
Elevation of the Huang He is 80 – 450 m higher than the corresponding section of the Chang Jiang
Need to construct 200 m high dams to raise water level or pumping stations to lift water
Need to build long tunnels – over 100 km long underneath the Bayankala
Three sub-routes:
1. Yalong Jiang He Diversion Route
Main Features: 175 m high dam on the river & diversion tunnel 131 km long ending at Qiaqeilong Ditch, a tributary of the Huang He
2. Tongtian He Diversion Route
Main Features: Reservoir with 302 m high dam on Tongtian He; tunnel from Tongtian He to Yanglongjiang will be 158 km long
3. Dadu He Diversion Route
Main Features: 296 m high dam on Dadu He; water pumped to Jiaqu He (Huang He tributary) through a 30 km long tunnel with a lifting height of 458 km

27. Feasibility of Western Canal Route: Moving Mountains
Constructed on Qinghai – Tibet Plateau, located 3,000 – 5,000 m asl
Necessary to build extremely tall dams, long tunnels at depth of 100m
Very cold temperatures in the region
Most complex geological structure in China; mountainous terrain
Earthquakes common

29. The END