China's South-to-North Water Diversion middle route delivers over 80 billion cubic meters, benefiting nearly 118 million

(ECNS) -- The first phase of the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project had transferred more than 80 billion cubic meters of water to northern China as of Friday, directly benefiting nearly 118 million people, according to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission. 

The water comes mainly from Danjiangkou Reservoir, where managers balance reservoir inflows, local demand in the Hanjiang River basin, northbound supplies, and downstream ecological needs.

This summer, after forecasts pointed to below-normal rainfall, authorities adjusted reservoir operations to retain about 1.5 billion cubic meters more water as a buffer against possible drought.

Technology is playing a growing role in monitoring water quality.

An AI-powered floating platform works alongside satellites, drones, and ground monitoring stations, feeding data into a digital twin of Danjiangkou Reservoir that tracks water quality, simulates flood scenarios, and supports emergency planning.

At Danjiangkou Reservoir, the core water source for the middle route, an autonomous vessel collects samples from different depths to monitor algae.

Using AI-powered microscopy, the floating station identifies microorganisms quickly and tracks algal activity, giving early warning of blooms.

The vessel is part of an integrated satellite, aerial, surface, and structural monitoring network that combines remote sensing, drones, ground-based stations, and sensors embedded in the dam.

By fusing multi-source data in real time, the system has shifted water monitoring "from isolated points to full-area coverage," said Cui Dongdong, deputy director of the technology development department at a company under the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources.

With the digital platform, a regulation plan that once took days to produce can now be generated in seconds.

The platform runs more than 15 professional models covering flood routing, pollutant dispersion, and dam structure simulation.

The 1,432-kilometer middle route canal carries water across the Yangtze, Huai, Yellow, and Hai river basins before it reaches households in the north.

Water quality has also improved, and the nationally protected "crystal jellyfish," known as the "giant panda of the water," is now sighted frequently in the reservoir, an indicator of excellent conditions. 

(By Helen Mo, intern Yang Hongran)