China Moving Heaven and Earth to Bring Water to Beijing

Felicia Jenkins
10/30/10
10:50 PM

China Moving Heaven and Earth to Bring Water to Beijing.

China is a country of extreme weather patterns, dry with little rain in some parts, while other parts experience flooding. Because of the unequal distribution of water China wants to build several tunnel like structures to move water around the country, specifically into Beijing. The water will be coming from the flood plains in the south and the mountains in the west. This project will cost over $62 billion and is the largest building project in China other than the Great Wall. There will be 1000 feet wide canal and will go 180 feet below the Yellow River. The set of tunnels with go across many historical locations and will displace hundreds of thousands of people. All for the sake of having an adequate drinking supply in a major city

There are many skeptics to this plan ranging from ordinary people to environmental agencies- it seems as though none of this is being taken into account. At the bare minimum China is planning to dig thousands of miles worth of earth up, destroying fragile ecosystems and disrupting many natural filtering processes. What does this mean for the land and the farming communities around the tunnels? Many of waters are already polluted and are unsafe for drinking. Does that mean increased chemical processing of the water that will move thousands of miles? What affect will the chemicals have on the people and the land itself? The environment is unable to adapt overnight to such drastic changes. This plan also proposes to displace at least 330,000 Chinese. Where are they going to go? Their lives will be uprooted so that people living in the city can have an increased supply of water. This seems unfair. Sure the government has increased plans for compensation for the displaced people but is it worth it? They are literally being forced out of their homes and forced to get a new life. Can the government really do that? All in the name of “the greater good for the country.” But the question remains, is this tunnel really a good idea? And for whom?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-water-20100929,0,3195261.story