On November 20, the Information Office of the Shandong Provincial Government held a press conference to brief on Shandong's continued efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of the operation and management of the Yellow River-to-Qingdao Water Diversion Project and to ensure water supply security in the Jiaodong region. Reporters learned at the conference that since the project, known as the "Golden Canal," was completed and began conveying water 35 years ago, it has given full play to its important role in optimizing water resources and other aspects, yielding enormous economic, ecological and social benefits.

Remarkable water supply benefits. Over the past 35 years, the project has diverted a cumulative 13.257 billion cubic meters of water, including 8.84 billion cubic meters of Yellow River water, 3.785 billion cubic meters of Yangtze River water and 632 million cubic meters of local water; cumulative water allocation has reached 9.361 billion cubic meters. It has provided water resource support for more than 44% of the province's GDP. In terms of water supply areas, the project has expanded from serving mainly Qingdao in its early design stage to supplying 32 counties and cities in five cities—Qingdao, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai and Dongying—benefiting more than 23 million people. In terms of supply duration, since joint operation with the Eastern Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project began in 2015, the project has operated more than 290 days per year on average, an increase of over 300% compared with the average of 71 days in the early period after water conveyance began. In terms of supply scale, the project diverted 67 million cubic meters of water in 1989; in recent years, it has diverted 644 million cubic meters per year on average, nearly a tenfold increase over the early stage of operation.

Remarkable ecological benefits. Since water conveyance began, the project has recharged more than 1.5 billion cubic meters of groundwater, promoting the rise of groundwater levels along the route, curbing saltwater intrusion and greatly improving the local ecological environment. Vigorous efforts have been made in beautification and greening of the project, with the greening rate of suitable land exceeding 98%, giving strong play to the role of conserving water sources and soil and water.

Remarkable social benefits. Over the past 35 years, the Yellow River-to-Qingdao Water Diversion Project has helped 850,000 people in areas such as Guangbei, Shoubei and Weibei emerge from a history of drinking bitter brackish water and high-fluoride water. It has provided more than 2 billion cubic meters of agricultural water along the route, expanded and improved irrigated area by more than 3.3 million mu, and increased grain output by more than 800 million kilograms, effectively safeguarding drinking water security and food security. Taking this year as an example, the project carried out 11 emergency drought-relief water diversions for Boxing County, diverting more than 16 million cubic meters of water in total to support irrigation for 196,800 mu of farmland, ensuring stable grain production and increased incomes.

The sustained realization of the project's comprehensive benefits is inseparable from high-quality operation and management. Cui Peixue, deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Water Resources, said that over the past 35 years Shandong has continued to improve the quality and efficiency of the operation and management of the Yellow River-to-Qingdao Water Diversion Project, laying a solid foundation for ensuring water supply security in the Jiaodong region.

Concentrating efforts on improving water supply capacity. The water diversion plan has been strictly implemented, digital empowerment has been strengthened, and joint allocation of multiple projects and multiple water sources has been enhanced, comprehensively improving the project's operating efficiency and its capacity for precise water resource allocation. Water quality management has been continuously strengthened, with material, human and technical safeguards fully implemented to ensure that supplied water quality remains at Class III or better year-round.

Concentrating efforts on building the project system. The Yellow River-to-Qingdao Water Diversion Project renovation and expansion and the Jiaodong Water Diversion Project of the Xiaoqing River comprehensive flood control project have been organized and implemented; projects such as the capacity expansion and reinforcement of Jihongtan Reservoir have been vigorously carried out; and comprehensive treatment of the canal-head sand-settling basin has been advanced in an orderly manner, continuously improving the project's functions of water diversion, transfer and storage.

Concentrating efforts on project management and maintenance. The river chief system has been strictly implemented, and the construction of provincial-level beautiful and happy demonstration rivers and lakes has been fully completed. The country's first standardized management of water diversion projects has been promoted, and reform of the "separation of management and maintenance" system has been fully implemented, achieving a transformation of project management from fragmented and extensive to systematic and standardized.

Concentrating efforts on work safety. The building of the "dual prevention system" for work safety and the "six mechanisms" for water conservancy work safety risk control has been fully completed, achieving full coverage of Level 1 standardization in work safety. Shouldering due responsibility for flood and drought disaster prevention, all defense measures have been fully implemented, effectively guaranteeing project safety and the drinking water safety of the public.

Concentrating efforts on improving the governance system. The Regulations of Shandong Province on the Jiaodong Water Diversion have been amended and promulgated, the institutional system has been improved, and management, technological and standards innovation has been actively promoted. The building of a uniquely characteristic water diversion culture system has been accelerated, and various innovative achievements such as the Ministry of Water Resources' Dayu Award have continued to emerge. The Yellow River-to-Qingdao Water Diversion Project was recognized by the Ministry of Water Resources as a "Century of Water Governance Achievements" project.

Cui Peixue said that next Shandong will continue to make every effort to ensure water diversion operation, and to carry out project management and maintenance. In line with the requirement that management follows wherever the province's backbone water network extends, Shandong will leverage the advantages of the provincial water network management platform, deepen the implementation of standardized project management, continue to optimize the "separation of management and maintenance" system, strengthen the protection and utilization of river and lake shorelines, comprehensively improve the level of intrinsic safety, and truly manage, dispatch and maintain Shandong's modern water network well. At the same time, the "Water Network+" initiative will be deepened to accelerate integrated development with modern agriculture, transportation, culture and tourism, ecological and environmental protection and other sectors, comprehensively enhancing the comprehensive benefits of the modern water network.