China's Massive Water Diversion Plans Raise Concerns Across Asia

China faces water scarcity that affects millions of people, prompting the country to pursue water projects on a scale rarely seen before.

The South-to-North Water Transfer Project is among China's largest infrastructure initiatives aimed at addressing regional water shortages. (Photo: Nsbdgc, Wikimedia Commons)

A three-part series by Live Science examines three aspects of this effort: the world's largest dam, an ambitious attempt to create a "river in the sky," and a massive water-transfer system, James Price reported.

China controls some of Asia's largest rivers, receives substantial rainfall and possesses vast water reserves locked in glaciers across its western regions. Despite these resources, the country continues to face significant water challenges.

While central and southern China are home to major waterways such as the Yangtze River, northern megacities including Beijing and Tianjin have experienced severe water shortages as population growth, industrial development and agricultural demand have increased.

To address this imbalance, China launched one of the world's largest engineering projects: rerouting water from some of the country's largest rivers and transporting it thousands of miles to the north.

Known as the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP), the network of canals, pipelines, dams, reservoirs and pumping stations transfers vast quantities of water through central and eastern China.

"It binds into a single network four major river basins, six provinces, three megacities, myriad bureaucracies, and more than 700 million people," Michael Webber, professor emeritus at the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Melbourne, wrote in a 2023 journal article.

China is expanding the existing routes and considering a third western route that would pass through the Tibetan Plateau before supplying water to northern and eastern regions.

The plateau, often called the "Water Tower of Asia," is rich in rivers and glacier-fed water resources.

"In every continent where humans are present, water bankruptcy is manifesting itself," Iranian scientist Kaveh Madani said.

Experts warn that the expansion could worsen environmental conditions in water-supplying regions.

The proposed Tibetan section has also raised concerns among neighboring countries because several major transboundary rivers originate there and could potentially be diverted further into China.

"The plan is unbelievable," Mark Wang, a professor of human geography at the University of Melbourne, told Live Science.

"The proposals have underestimated the negative impacts—environmental damage, earthquake risks, evaporation losses and economic costs—as well as the international consequences," Wang added.