BEIJING, Sept. 12 -- The eastern and middle routes of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project have transferred 65.4 billion cubic meters of water so far, official data showed Tuesday.

Hundreds of cities in the north, including metropolises like Beijing and Tianjin and smaller ones, have relied on the project as a major water source, said Jiang Xuguang, chairman of the China South-to-North Water Diversion Corporation Limited.

The two routes benefited over 176 million people and replenished 10 billion cubic meters of water for ecological purposes. Jang said the diversion reversed the decades-long drop in underground water levels in the north and revived many rivers and lakes.

The middle route starts at the Danjiangkou Reservoir in central China's Hubei Province and runs across Henan and Hebei before reaching Beijing and Tianjin. It began supplying water in December 2014. The eastern route began operations in November 2013, transferring water from east China's Jiangsu Province to Tianjin and Shandong.

The country is stepping up efforts in the planning and early preparations of the western route and further constructions of the eastern and middle routes, according to Jiang.