BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Beijing expects to receive 911 million cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River between Nov. 2016 and Oct. 2017, local authorities said on Tuesday.
The south-to-north water diversion project has already pumped 260 million cubic meters of water into Beijing since last November, according to the capital's office for the project.
Since the project began pumping water in December 2014. Beijing has received more than 2 billion cubic meters of water from the Yangtze, and 1.6 billion cubic meters of water from nearby Hebei Province, according to Sun Guosheng, head of the office.
More than 11 million residents, or about half of Beijing's population, have directly benefitted.
Recent data showed the water table in Beijing had risen 0.42 meters from a year ago, thanks to a daily water flow of 3.4 million cubic meters from the project.
Beijing will construct more facilities including pipelines and reservoirs this year, according to Sun.
The city will also build a new water channel along its sixth ring road to deliver the water from the Yangtze River to a larger population.
Construction work of the "underground sixth ring," with designed water flow of 600 million cubic meters annually, is expected to begin around 2020 and be complete by 2030. It aims to transfer water to the city's suburban areas to help alleviate pressure from overpumping.
The project was conceived by Mao Zedong in 1952. The State Council approved the project in December 2002 after nearly half a century of debate.
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