The Yellow River into Hebei project has been open to water for more than 30 years: the water of the Yellow River "quenches the thirst" of central and southern Hebei

The Yellow River into Hebei project has been open to water for more than 30 years

The water of the Yellow River "quenches thirst" in central and southern Hebei

Photographed on June 5, 2023, the Dashuliu Pumping Station of the Yellow River into Hebei Replenishment Project (Qucun Line) in Hebei Province. Photo by Ren Shuchun, correspondent of Hebei Daily

The Yellow River flows, endlessly.

In January 1993, an important cross-basin large-scale water supply project, the Yellow River into Hebei Weishan Line Project, was officially opened to water, in October 2010, the Yellow River to Hebei Panzhuang Line Project was officially opened to water, in November 2017, the Yellow River to Hebei Lijia'an Line Project was officially opened to water, and in November 2018, the Yellow River to Hebei Lake Replenishment Project (Qucun Line) was officially opened to water.

Over the past 30 years, 13.25 billion cubic meters of Yellow River water has flowed into Hebei, nourishing 49 counties (cities and districts) in Handan, Xingtai, Hengshui, Cangzhou, Langfang and Xiong'an New Area, greatly alleviating the problem of water shortage in central and southern Hebei, and effectively contributing to the comprehensive treatment of groundwater overexploitation in North China and the improvement of Hebei's ecological environment.

Bringing in irrigation water for agriculture

The irrigated area has expanded from 2.3 million mu to more than 500 mu

In Hebei, agricultural irrigation is the main use of yellow water. In the early 90s of the 20th century, the central and southern parts of Hebei, which are located in the great funnel of North China, faced the problem of water shortage, and agricultural production was seriously affected. With the support of the Ministry of Water Resources and other departments, combined with the actual situation of the Yellow River diversion project, the first large-scale cross-basin and cross-provincial diversion project from the Yellow River to Hebei came into being.

A hub that has witnessed more than 30 years of wind and rain. On the Wei Canal in the southern suburbs of Linqing City, Shandong Province, the cross-water conveyance building across the Wei Canal - the Chuanwei Hub Project is the key node for the Yellow River water to enter our province through the Yellow River into Jiweishan Road.

"By the end of 2023, the project has completed a total of 38 water transmission tasks, with a total water delivery of 9.45 billion cubic meters. Niu Yanan, director of the Piercing Hub Management Institute, introduced.

The boiling water of the Yellow River comes out of the Weishan Gate in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, enters Hebei through the Liukou Gate in Linxi County, runs all the way to some areas of Heilonggang, and finally enters the South Canal through the Yangquan Gate in Botou City. Linxi County is the first water-receiving county in Hebei Province on the Yellow River into Jiweishan Road, with a total length of more than 17 kilometers.

"The Weishan line is 202 kilometers long in Hebei, with Xingtai, Hengshui and Cangzhou as the main beneficiaries. Yang Zhijun, former deputy director of the Hengshui Water Conservancy Bureau, told the author that taking Longxing Township and Qinglan Township in Jingxian County, Hengshui City as an example, it has been calculated that compared with before the arrival of the yellow water, the average yield of winter wheat per mu has increased by 50 kilograms.

Statistics show that more than 20 counties (cities and districts) in the 26 counties (cities and districts) in the water-receiving areas of the Yellow River into Hebei are responsible for increasing grain production, and the construction of the project to divert the Yellow River into Hebei is of great significance to ensure national food security.

The increase in the diversity of water sources for agricultural irrigation has also created favorable conditions for reducing groundwater overexploitation. The Nanhu Park in the south of Jiangzhuang Village in Zaoqiang Town is proof of this.

Nanhu Park was once an abandoned pit. The continuous flow of water from the Yellow River brings life to this pit. In 2014, Zaoqiang County re-planned and renovated it, built a reservoir pond, and scientifically diverted the water of the Yellow River, truly realizing that the water source can be "attracted, stored, and used".

Zhu Hongwu, director of the Zaoqiang County Water Conservancy Bureau, said: "By the end of 2022, the county had extracted a total of 117.53 million cubic meters of groundwater, and the deep groundwater level had increased by 13.81 meters compared with 2018. ”

A flood of Yellow River water, "quenching thirst" in central and southern Hebei. From the four-month water diversion time in winter to the regular water diversion, from one line to four lines...... Over the past 30 years, the Provincial Department of Water Resources has actively diverted more water from the Yellow River to effectively guarantee Hebei's crop irrigation needs, and the irrigation area of farmland has expanded from the original 2.3 million mu to more than 500 million mu.

Attracting revival water from rivers and lakes

In 2023, the length of canals with water in the province will be 1,040.8 kilometers, and the water surface area will reach 66.9 square kilometers

Recently, the author walked into the shore of Hengshui Lake and saw egrets fluttering and sparkling. The water of the Yellow River follows the route of leading the Yellow River into Jiwei Mountain, through the channel, from the small oil gate on the left bank of the Qingliang River in Zaoqiang County, through the Weiqian Canal, and enters Hengshui Lake from the Wangkou Gate.

Hengshui Lake is a national wetland and bird nature reserve that is extremely scarce and typical in mainland China, but in the 20th century, the ecological environment of Hengshui Lake was seriously damaged by land reclamation, land competition with the lake, fishing and fish farming, and excessive development, and the water quality pollution was serious.

In order to protect Hengshui Lake, Hengshui City has continuously increased the protection of Hengshui Lake wetlands, implemented pollution control step by step and turned to ecological restoration. By the end of 2022, the Weishan Line has delivered a total of 1.3 billion cubic meters of water to Hengshui Lake, effectively guaranteeing the ecological recovery needs of rivers and lakes.

At present, more than 300 species of birds have been observed in the Hengshui Lake wetland, including more than 20 species of birds under national first-class key protection. Zhang Yuguang, chief of the wetland ecological monitoring section of the Resource Protection Bureau of Binhu New District, Hengshui City, said that the water quality of Hengshui Lake has been stable at the Class III water standard all year round, the water ecological environment has continued to improve, and the happiness of the surrounding residents has been continuously enhanced.

Not only Hengshui Lake, but also Baiyangdian, the pearl of North China, is also fed by the Yellow River.

Through the diversion of the Yellow River into Hebei (Qucun Line) project, a flood of Yellow River water slowly flows out from Qucun, Puyang City, Henan Province, passing through 6 cities in Henan and Hebei provinces, traveling nearly 1,000 miles, and finally "embracing each other" with Baiyangdian.

The flowing water creates a vibrant Baiyangdian Lake. Since 2018, Hebei has continued to increase the ecological water replenishment of Baiyangdian Lake through the comprehensive use of various water sources such as yellow water and local water, effectively ensuring the ecological water volume and water level of Baiyangdian. The data show that in recent years, the average annual water inflow has reached 300 million to 400 million cubic meters, and the water level of Baiyangdian Lake has been maintained at a reasonable water level of 6.5 to 7 meters all year round, which has effectively increased the hydrodynamic power of Baiyangdian Lake and promoted the water cycle.

According to the arrangement and deployment of the Ministry of Water Resources, Hebei has also carried out the diversion of the Yellow River to Tianjin for many times through the diversion of the Yellow River into Jiweishan and Panzhuang, and has transported more than 3 billion cubic meters of Yellow River water to Tianjin, effectively promoting the ecological restoration of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and reviving the ancient Grand Canal.

From agricultural water use to ecological water replenishment, the function of diversion of yellow water in Hebei Province has been increasingly improved. Over the past 30 years, the average annual water diversion of the Yellow River in the province has increased from 280 million cubic meters to 978 million cubic meters, and the scope of ecological water replenishment has also increased from key rivers and lakes such as Baiyangdian to Nandagang Wetland, Fuyang River, Laozhang River and other rivers and lakes. Since 2023, through the diversion of water from the Yellow River, a length of 1,040.8 kilometers of canals has been formed in Hebei, with a water surface area of 66.9 square kilometers.

Attract clean water

Hebei, Henan and Shandong work together to protect the water of the Yellow River

It is difficult to cure yellow, and only sand is the leader. The Yellow River water, which is "a bowl of water and half a bowl of sand", has a large sand content. How to ensure the clear water quality of the Yellow River entering Baiyangdian?

On December 12, 2023, the author came to Nanhu Village, Qucun Township, Puyang City, Henan Province. This is an important "checkpoint" encountered by the Yellow River into the Yellow River diversion gate after the Yellow River water enters the Yellow River diversion gate - the sedimentation pond.

Standing at the entrance of the sedimentation tank, I saw two giant canals with a total area of more than 2,600 acres, the water color on one side of the channel was dark yellow, and the water quality on the other side was clear.

"When the water is diverted, the rushing water of the Yellow River slows down here and unloads the 'burden' of sediment. According to the relevant person in charge of the Puyang Yellow River Diversion Project Management Office, after the water is transferred, it will be used alternately every year and cleaned regularly, so that the two canals can always complete the task of sending clean water to Xiong'an in the best condition.

It is understood that in Puyang, 1 cubic meter of Yellow River water contains about 5 kilograms of sand. After the sedimentation of the sedimentation tank, 60% of the sand can be filtered, and with the natural precipitation along the way, the river water to Baiyangdian has been clear.

Slightly different from Henan Province, Shandong Province is using scientific and technological means to explore a road of sand regulation and control.

Based on the reality of less water and more sand, the Weishan Irrigation District on the route from the Yellow River to Hebei Province has compiled a high-standard implementation plan for the pilot construction of the digital twin irrigation area, and improved the computing data, computing power, algorithm capabilities, forecasting, early warning, rehearsal, and plan levels by building five major systems such as three-dimensional perception and automatic control, so as to help solve the practical problems of the irrigation area by means of digital twins and comprehensively improve the level of modern management.

"In cooperation with the Yellow River Hydraulic Research Institute, we are studying the change model of water and sediment diversion in typical areas of irrigation areas, which can be used to support the scientific management of water and sediment in irrigation areas. Wang Huizhong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Management Service Center of Weishan Irrigation District, Liaocheng City, introduced that on the basis of long-term water and sediment test data, they used the digital twin platform to analyze the relationship between water and sediment to make it possible to scientifically transport and dispose of sediment.

With the help of the digital twin platform, the irrigation area will simulate the sediment dynamic model to explore the water flow characteristics and sediment distribution under different working conditions, so as to further promote the optimization and regulation of sediment sedimentation in the channel.

Make good use of the water of the Yellow River and do not forget to divert water. Over the years, focusing on making good use of every drop of Yellow River water, Hebei has always put water conservation, pollution control, river control, management and protection and other work on the important agenda. In order to promote the standardization of the operation and management of the Yellow River Diversion Project, the "Regulations on the Operation and Management of the Yellow River Diversion Project in Hebei Province" has been officially implemented on January 1, 2024. After the promulgation of the regulations, it will lay a more solid foundation for the sustainable and stable performance of the benefits of the Yellow River diversion project. (Hebei Daily reporter Yuan Lili correspondent Ren Shuchun)