The reporter learned from China South-to-North Water Diversion Group Co., Ltd. on the 7th that the first phase of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has recently surpassed 7 billion cubic meters of cumulative water diversion to Shandong. Since it began supplying water on November 15, 2013, the first phase of the eastern route has diverted more than 40 billion cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River in total, effectively improving the water resource allocation pattern in the receiving areas and effectively alleviating water shortages in southern and northern Shandong, especially on the Shandong Peninsula.

According to the introduction, since the first phase of the eastern route was completed and began supplying water, it has strongly guaranteed domestic, industrial, and environmental water use in the receiving areas along the route. All 37 planned supporting project units in 13 receiving cities in Shandong Province have received water, and in some water-diversion years the actual diverted water volume in Jinan, Qingdao, Weifang, Jining, and other places reached more than 80% of the designed water allocation. From 2016 to 2018, when Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, and Weifang in Shandong experienced a severe water resource crisis, the eastern route project supplied water to the Jiaodong region continuously for 893 days, providing 1.442 billion cubic meters of water.

The first phase of the eastern route has effectively alleviated the situation of groundwater overexploitation in the receiving areas along the route. By replacing agricultural water use in some deep groundwater overexploitation areas of Hebei and Tianjin, the volume of groundwater overexploitation has been substantially reduced, supporting the comprehensive treatment of groundwater overexploitation in North China. The emergency water supply project of the eastern route's northward extension has successfully completed four water supply tasks to Hebei and Tianjin, and has helped the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal achieve full connectivity three times. As of 8:00 on May 3, 2024, it had diverted a cumulative 760 million cubic meters of water north of the Yellow River, replenished 500 million cubic meters to the Xiaoyun River and Nanyun River, and provided 374 million cubic meters of ecological water replenishment to Nansi Lake and Dongping Lake, avoiding the ecological predicament of lake desiccation; it also replenished 245 million cubic meters to the Xiaoqing River and 178 million cubic meters to preserve springs and recharge source areas, ensuring the continuous gushing of springs in Jinan.

The first phase of the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project undertakes the important task of building an optimized water resource allocation pattern of "north-south transfer and east-west mutual supplementation." Within Shandong, a "T"-shaped backbone water network pattern has been established, realizing the joint dispatch and optimized allocation of Yangtze River water, Yellow River water, and local water, and effectively alleviating water shortages in southern Shandong, northern Shandong, and the peninsula region.