ZHENGZHOU — The middle route of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred 20 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting over 53 million residents along the route.

The Construction and Administration Bureau of South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project said that, as of Feb 15, the project has transferred 20 billion cubic meters of water since the project started in December 2014.

Thanks to the project, over 53 million residents in Central China’s Henan province, North China’s Hebei province, Beijing and Tianjin have bid farewell to unsafe drinking water.

So far, 37 cities and counties and 83 waterworks in Henan have received transferred water as planned, while 11 new waterworks have been built up, with the beneficiaries in the province increasing by nearly one million.

Aimed at increasing water safety and improving the water ecology and environment along the route, the middle route project has been carrying water through canals and pipes from the Danjiangkou reservoir in Central China’s Hubei province to Henan, Hebei, Beijing and Tianjin since 2014.

The project has also helped prevent the falling of underground water levels in the North China Plain. Meanwhile, test results have shown that the good water quality of the source of the middle route project has also ensured drinking water safety for residents.