‘We’re appealing for the government to increase the compensation fund for Han River projects and to build more sewage plants,’ says Shen Xiaoli, of the Research Academy of Environmental Science in Hubei. ‘Once a construction project starts upstream, it requires water compensation downstream. This, in turn, necessitates other projects to deal with the negative impacts. It’s a circle in which you need ever more solutions and ever more funds.’ The biggest problem, he predicted, would be a decline in water quality as the flow of the Han decreases while industry continues to develop. The economic downturn makes matters worse. ‘In this financial crisis, it’s hard to shut down a company simply for environmental reasons. Hubei is determined to catch up with the coastal provinces. As our economy grows, more and more environmental problems will emerge,’ says Shen.
The biggest grumbles are coming from the middle reaches of the Han, which are expected to be worst affected by the diversion scheme. ‘Local people are very worried about the impact on our ecology because we will lose a fifth of our water,’ said a resident of Xiangfan City, who asked to remain anonymous. ‘Although we’re concerned, everyone must express support. We dare not oppose the central government.’
Senior officials do not need to be told the project is troubled. All three legs have problems. The eastern route, along the Grand Canal, was supposed to be the easiest to finish, but pollution levels in this heavily industrial ized area are so high that water treatment is proving expensive. Tianjin prefers to build desalination plants. The most costly and complex western leg has been suspended over concerns about the political and economic cost of diverting water from the Yangtze to the Yellow River high on the Tibet-Qinghai plateau. One former senior policymaker has advised the government to wait and see the results of the first phase of the other two lines before deciding whether to proceed. ‘The original plans were made 20 years ago. Since then our society has developed and the natural environment has changed,’ she says. ‘My view is that we must make a new assessment of the plan for the middle and eastern legs, and then decide whether to proceed.’
The Yellow River Conservancy Commission insists that the western route, which would divert more water than the other two combined, must go ahead. ‘This is the only way to solve the water shortage problem,’ says Sun. ‘The western leg is the only one that transfers water directly into the Yellow River so the whole basin will benefit.’
Far downstream in Kaifeng, the Yellow appears vast and placid. It’s a misleading sight. So much sediment has built up here over the centuries that the river bed is several meters higher than the land. A huge double barrier protects the nearby farm fields and homes. Locals once lived in terror of the annual floods. But since the Xiaolangdi dam was built, the threat has receded. The challenge now, say locals, is to secure enough water.
‘I used to swim in the ponds around our village, but they have all dried up,’ says Song Huiran, who cycles around the region on a one-man conservation campaign. ‘The water level in the well has fallen by three metres in the past 10 years. During the drought earlier this year, many villages in this area had to ask for a special diversion of water from the Yellow River. Every year we need to take more water to irrigate our crops.’ The 71-year-old former teacher believes diversions are not the solution. He wants people to take more responsibility. ‘We all need to save and recycle water. Some villagers think we have plenty of water, enough to last 200 years. I tell them there are shortages across the world. We must do more to save water for future generations.’
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