South-North Water Diversion project not cause of Hubei and Henan droughts, say officials
Driest summer since 1961 is to blame, not project's central canal, which has yet to start full operations sending water to arid north, says Yangtse River Water Resources Commission.
Water authorities have denied media reports earlier this month that the mainland’s mammoth South-North Water Diversion project is to blame for unusual droughts in parts of central China’s Hubei and Henan province.
The project's central route, which passes through the two provinces, had yet to be put into full operation and, therefore, should not affect water levels in the region, an official at the Yangtse River Water Resources Commission was quoted by the People’s Daily as saying.
Lowered water levels in the Han River, the source for the central route, had been caused by reduced water flow from upper reaches, Li Mingxin, deputy director of the commission’s water resources research centre, told the state newspaper.
The newspaper also quoted a Henan provincial official as saying that drought-hit areas in the province were not located in the Han River’s Danjiangkou Reservoir region, the major source of water for the central route.
There has been 60 per cent less rainfall in parts of Henan since June compared with normal levels over the period, making this summer the driest since 1961, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Hubei had seen 20 per cent less rainfall than usual over the summer, which had led to more than 100 small reservoirs and 50,000 lakes dried up, it said.
