On the morning of December 10, the reporter saw at the intake pumping station of the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project (the South-to-North Water Diversion Jianghan Diversion Project) that rolling Yangtze River water was being supplied downstream through the intake pumping station at a flow rate of 38 cubic meters per second. This August, the Jianghan Plain experienced persistent low rainfall. To replenish the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River, Changhu Lake and the Dongjing River basin, the Administration Bureau of the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project launched the intake pumping station units on September 25 to carry out emergency water diversion to the Hanjiang River, Changhu Lake and the Dongjing River. As of December 10, the intake pumping station had been diverting water continuously for 77 days, setting a record since the project began operation, with a cumulative diversion of 440 million cubic meters in this round.

Guo Zhiyuan, director of the gate and pumping station management office of the Jingzhou Branch of the Hubei Provincial Administration Bureau of the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project, introduced that since the intake pumping station was started on September 25 for pumping, at peak five units were operating simultaneously with a flow rate approaching 200 cubic meters per second. Subsequently, as the Yangtze River water level continued to decline, the number of operating units kept decreasing. Up to now, the upstream water level can only support the operation of one unit.

To optimize water volume allocation and better meet the differentiated water use needs of localities along the route, the Hubei Provincial Administration Bureau of the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project formulated the Emergency Water Supply Dispatch Plan for the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project, accelerated the construction of an emergency water volume dispatch plan system, strengthened emergency water volume dispatch work, and comprehensively improved emergency water diversion support capacity. As of now, in 2024 the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project has diverted 3.5 billion cubic meters of water, exceeding the annual water diversion task.

It is understood that since the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project was completed and began conveying water in 2014, emergency water diversion by starting the intake pumping station has basically taken place during the dry season from January to March. However, this summer the Yangtze River water level continued to decline, making gravity-flow diversion impossible, so emergency water diversion by the intake pumping station was started on September 25. During the operation of the intake pumping station, 24-hour duty is implemented, with each shift lasting 8 hours, and inspections are required every 2 hours to promptly handle various emergencies during operation and ensure the safety of water diversion.

According to forecasts by the meteorological department, precipitation in Hubei Province will be below normal this winter and next spring, and consecutive drought in autumn, winter and spring may occur. A responsible person from the Hubei Provincial Administration Bureau of the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project introduced that it will continue to do a good job in the long-term operation of pumping stations for water diversion and drought relief. At present, the gate and pumping station management office has promptly carried out maintenance on the pumping station units, including units that have undergone major overhaul and are now also ready for startup and operation. At the same time, all subsequent standby units have been overhauled and maintained, safely ensuring the long-term continuous operation of the pumping station.

The Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project is one of the four governance projects for the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River in Phase I of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. It is also the largest modern artificial canal in China and the largest water resource allocation project in Hubei Province. The main canal has a total length of 67.23 kilometers, starting from the left bank of the Yangtze River in Libu Town, Jingzhou City, and ending at the right bank of the Hanjiang River in Gaoshibei Town, Qianjiang City. Since the project was completed and began conveying water, the Yangtze-to-Hanjiang Water Diversion Project has carried out ecological water replenishment year-round to Changhu Lake, the Dongjing River and the ancient city of Jingzhou, injecting fresh water from the source into the ancient city of Jingzhou and nourishing 6.45 million mu of cultivated land and 8.89 million people in the Jianghan Plain. It has made positive contributions to safeguarding the ecology and water supply security of the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River.