Pollution Continues To Threaten the South-North Water Diversion Project

August 31, 2005

Thousands of tons of waste continue to pollute water that the government intends to be diverted through the eastern and middle routes of the South-North Water Diversion Project, according to an August 5 Xinhua article. The diversion project is part of national development plans to relieve severe water shortages by diverting water from south China to the north, but financial difficulties and lack of water treatment facilities threaten the project’s timely completion and effectiveness.

Thousands of tons of waste continue to pollute water that the government intends to be diverted through the eastern and middle routes of the South-North Water Diversion Project, according to an August 5 Xinhua article. The diversion project is part of national development plans to relieve severe water shortages by diverting water from south China to the north, but financial difficulties and lack of water treatment facilities threaten the project’s timely completion and effectiveness.

On March 23, State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) officials reported that a third of the water treatment facilities on the eastern route had not been completed, and construction on many has not yet begun. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by 2007. In late March, a Xinhua report indicated that domestic banks plan to loan $5.9 billion for the project, which a November 2004 China Daily report says has already exceeded its estimated budget.