Danjiangkou Reservoir Meets 2025 Water Quality Targets, Safeguarding South-to-North Water Diversion Project

It was learned from a meeting on promoting water quality safety guarantee work in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area and its upper reaches that the Ministry of Water Resources, together with relevant departments and local governments, has successfully completed the 2025 phased goals of the Work Plan for Further Strengthening Water Quality Safety Guarantee in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Area and Its Upper Reaches. The water quality of Danjiangkou Reservoir is generally excellent, and the water quality at Taucha Canal Head has remained stable at Grade Ⅱ or above, meeting the water supply quality requirements, according to China News Service.

Since the commissioning of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the cumulative water transfer volume has exceeded 77.6 billion cubic meters, benefiting 118 million people. As a vital "lifeline" ensuring the drinking water safety of more than 100 million people in the water-receiving areas including the capital, the stable water quality of Danjiangkou Reservoir is crucial to the project’s operation, said Li Yong, Director of the Department of South-to-North Water Diversion Project Management of the Ministry of Water Resources.

Great efforts have been made to improve water conservation capacity in the water source area. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, a total of 6,866 square kilometers of soil and water loss have been controlled, effectively enhancing the water conservation capacity of the basin. According to China Daily, over 5,000 square kilometers of soil and water loss were controlled in 2024 alone, exceeding the annual target.

Key risk sources have been effectively managed to ensure water quality safety. Strict supervision has been strengthened over tailings ponds, historical legacy mines and dangerous goods transportation. The Ministry of Water Resources has issued the Plan for the Protection and Utilization of the Danjiangkou Reservoir Shoreline, intensified the investigation and rectification of sewage outlets into rivers, promoted the improvement of pollution control quality and efficiency, and strengthened ecological protection and restoration.

A comprehensive monitoring system has been built to keep a close eye on water quality changes. More than 1,700 hydrological, water quality and aquatic ecological stations have been completed, realizing full coverage of automatic water quality monitoring in the reservoir area and 16 major inflow rivers. The monitoring system for remote sensing of the reservoir area and its surrounding areas, soil and water loss, and ecological flow has been continuously improved, according to China News Service.

Digital technologies have also been applied to strengthen supervision. The construction achievements of the digital twin Hanjiang River Basin and the digital twin Danjiangkou Project have been optimized and iterated in practical application, with an intelligent supervision system established to realize dynamic monitoring of the water surface, personnel activities on the reservoir bank, floating objects and water quality changes through satellite remote sensing, UAV aerial photography and fixed camera monitoring.

The successful completion of the 2025 phased goals marks a solid step in safeguarding the water quality safety of the Danjiangkou Reservoir. With continuous efforts in pollution control, ecological restoration and monitoring system improvement, the reservoir will continue to provide high-quality water resources for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, benefiting more people and contributing to ecological civilization construction.