Local officials said in Beijing Thursday that the water quality of Danjiangkou Reservoir -- the starting point of China's massive south-to-north water diversion project -- can be well-preserved through a series of protection measures already underway.

The reservoir, which spans the central provinces of Hubei and Henan at the upper reaches of the Hanjiang River, has been chosen as the starting point for the central route of the gigantic water project.

Speaking at a media briefing in Beijing Thursday morning, Wang Yingjie, director of the water resources department of Nanyang city, where the reservoir is located, noted that the local government is trying to minimize pollution and improve the surrounding environment.

"We have recently closed down more than 230 enterprises discharging pollutants, thus greatly reducing pollution that might threaten the reservoir," Wang said.

Those measures include increasing the green area surrounding the area from the current 30 percent to over 40 percent, with afforestation of about 51 hectares expected over the next several years. A 185-km protective forest belt will also be built along the project's water-drawing canal.

Local governments have also vigorously promoted agriculture that helps to reduce the pollution of cultivated lands, water resources and environment by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The Nanyang legislature has also formulated environmental protection regulations relating to the reservoir area to better safeguard the environment and to ensure the smooth conversion of farmland to forest.

Meanwhile, the local government is also preparing to build two sewage treatment plants, each with a daily treatment capacity of 100,000 tons, and two garbage treatment plants capable of handling 300 tons daily.

"Once those plants are operational, we will be able to thoroughly resolve the urban sewage and raw waste pollution problem", Wang said.

"The monitoring data of the past several years has indicated that the reservoir's water quality is well above the national average," Wang said. "It is now one of China's cleanest reservoirs."

The project's 1,200-km-plus central line, which will be built at an estimated cost of 78 billion (US$9.4 billion) to 88 billion yuan (US$10.6 billion), once completed, will ensure the delivery of some 9.5 billion cubic meters of water each year to arid northern cities like Beijing and Tianjin from the Danjiangkou Reservoir.

The entire massive south-to-north water transfer project, which includes the eastern, central and western routes, is expected to cost an estimated 486 billion yuan (about US$59 billion), twice as much as the Three Gorges Dam project.

However, the project, which aims to alleviate the water shortages in China's arid northern regions, has also triggered concerns over its probable negative consequences to cultural relics and the environment along its routes.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2003)