Environment and sustainability of the Middle Route, South-to-North Water Transfer Project in China: a close look

Xiang-Zhou Xu (), Guo-Dong Song, Tian-Min Dang, Jian-Wei Liu, Hong-Wu Zhang, Hang Gao and Ya-Kun Liu
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Xiang-Zhou Xu: Dalian University of Technology
Guo-Dong Song: Tsinghua University
Tian-Min Dang: North West Agriculture and Forestry University
Jian-Wei Liu: Dalian University of Technology
Hong-Wu Zhang: Tsinghua University
Hang Gao: Dalian University of Technology
Ya-Kun Liu: Dalian University of Technology

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2018, vol. 20, issue 6, No 1, 2415-2426

Abstract: Abstract In many arid and semiarid regions, water scarcity, population increase and frequent droughts are exerting great pressures on water resources. Presently, the Mid-route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (MRSN) was built to mitigate the water crisis in the north of China by long-distance transfer of water from the Yangtze River in southern China. This study investigated the running condition of the MRSN, including operation management, freezing situation and water quality. Water samples were also taken from different sites and then analyzed in laboratory. Results suggest that the project was reasonably designed and the project management was excellent. Closed management was adopted in the project to protect water quality. The sediment concentrations and water turbidities of the water samples were in the range of 0.2–0.8 kg/m3 and 0.8–1.7 NTU, respectively, which met or were close to the standards of drinking water in China. Water freezing is also not a problem, since the thickest ice was only 0.9 cm even in the coldest season as the authors measured the investigation, and at the same time, the ice booms worked well. In the future, it is promising that to effectively integrate the methods of self-rescuing and water importing could fundamentally conquer water shortage, reasonably allocate water resources and finally achieve the harmonious development of economics, ecology and society.

Keywords: MRSN; Water quality; Freezing; Operation management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-017-9996-7

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