Himalayas: Water towers of Asia

[haidian]

China's water diversion plan:

No country is more vulnerable to China’s reengineering of transboundary flows than India. The reason is that India alone receives nearly half of the river waters that leave Chinese-held territory. According to United Nations figures, a total of 718 billion cubic meters of surface water flows out of Chinese territory yearly, of which 347.02 billion cubic meters (or 48.33 percent of the total) runs directly into India.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

A thread whereby PRC was fooled by Indian's anti-PRC propaganda. Many PRC commenters need further diligent in studying. Now PRC tolling Indians' lies, designed to harm PRC -- ironically.

Take Brahmaputra as example. Brahmaputra receives most of her water from Indian drainage. The PRC Tibet side is a rain shadow and the Indian side of Southern Himalaya slope receive most of the rainfall. Despite the height of Tibetan plateau, Tibetan area a arid cold desert, that receive very little rainfall.

The ability of PRC to control Brahmaputra water discharge can be estimated by the discharge level at Zangmu dam, around 500-600 km from Medog, the frontier county that abuts South Tibet. The Zangmu dam has average discharge of 1010m3/s. Hudong Baike as below.

藏木水电站_互动百科

The Brahmaputra river according wiki has average discharge of 19,300 m3/s at their downstream in Bangladesh.

Brahmaputra River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clearly, even if not a single drop of Brahmaputra goes into India, Indians will never be affected. There are large Brahmaputra tributaries in India. Nevertheless, Indians forever rant PRC damning Brahmaputra, and make a big fuss out of it, for very evil motive.

And many PRC commenters are not so clever. The take pride on Indians' denigration. I have seen so many PRC brag how they can thirst Indian by diverting Brahmaputra.

 

[haidian]

If that doesn't affect India at all,that will be a very good news to both China and India.

According to United Nations figures, a total of 718 billion cubic meters of surface water flows out of Chinese territory yearly, of which 347 billion cubic meters (or 48.3 percent of the total) runs directly into India

We need this water.

 

[typoerror]

You are spot on about this. In fact if China diverts the river, it could help control the annual floods. There are two sides to every coin however, without the annual flooding, kazhiranga will be destroyed, one of the few national parks in India that in too precious to lose. so some joint study between india and china on these projects may be beneficial to both. however under current circumstances, that wont happen.

 

[haidian]

Tibetan area a arid cold desert,

Both North and South Pole are cold deserts,actually they are very dry indeed.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

Indian keep on bad mouth China in Tibet hydroelectric. PRC need to be careful not to play into Indians' trick and Indians have their ally Dalai group side by side.

My POV is the North South water transfer project is the best hope for irrigating the plains north of Yangtze. The NS water transfer divert a whopping around 5% Yangtze--2000 m3/s, at the final phase. Its really incredible but base on my calculation, that is still not enough. Maybe 4000m3/s or 10% of Yangtze will completely overhaul the northern plains.

Next Northern China got to improve irrigation method. Now there is lots of wastage. 粗放式农业。The efficiency cannot be improved unless the farmers got educated and much more capital is invested. Solution probably in urbanized many of the farmers to free up land for industrial farming.

China's hope of surplus food lies on transforming plains north of Yangtze. The south of Yangtze has a lot more limitations in most places such as mountainous terrain. Other options will be to farm overseas.

You are spot on about this. In fact if China diverts the river, it could help control the annual floods. There are two sides to every coin however, without the annual flooding, kazhiranga will be destroyed, one of the few national parks in India that in too precious to lose. so some joint study between india and china on these projects may be beneficial to both. however under current circumstances, that wont happen.

That is right. A dam near Medong will be helpful for flood control especially, more so if India build a few more cascade downstream. That dam will even be bigger than 3 gorge dam.

Hope both race work together.

 

[haidian]

Diversion rivers in China: moving water from Tibet to Xinjiang:It has previously been suggested that such a project could move 200 billion cubic metres of water a year; the equivalent of four Yellow Rivers.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

It has previously been suggested that such a project could move 200 billion cubic metres of water a year; the equivalent of four Yellow Rivers.

More work must should be done on India side, as base on my calculation, Indian drainage contributes most water.

China Brahmaputra dam and Medong will help greatly as well.

 

[haidian]

We badly need that water and we certainly don't want to offend India.so the best hope is those projects won't affect India at all. and 4 yellow rivers will definitely transform Xinjiang's desert into lush grasslands.

More work must should be done on India side, as base on my calculation, Indian drainage contributes most water.

I hope your calculation is right.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

Diversion rivers in China: moving water from Tibet to Xinjiang:It has previously been suggested that such a project could move 200 billion cubic metres of water a year; the equivalent of four Yellow Rivers.

Tibet is a desert. I have been there -- 2x unlike most PRC here. You can divert it to Xinjiang no doubt. However most Tibetan river other than Brahmaputra has low discharge.

The Brahmaputra water get more plentiful when she move close to India border. Even at Zangmu, she is just 1000m3/s around 3% of Yangtze.
藏木水电站_互动百科

Zangmu is not far from India. Guess if you want to move these across mountains and mountains of 5000m peak more than 1000km. That is possible nevertheless.

 

[haidian]

225 billion yuan and 5-8 years to complete.

Guo Kai told me the project name was originally chosen to distinguish the scheme from the western route of the South-North Water Transfer project. He came up with the idea as early as 1990: take 201 billion cubic metres of water every year from the Yarlung Zangbo, divert it through the Nu, Nancang, Jinsha, Yalong and Dadu rivers, over the Aba watershed and into the Yellow River. Guo believes this project would not only ease water shortages in the north of China, but also transform desert landscapes, increase farmland, provide power and create jobs.

It would only take five to eight years to build, and cost 225 billion yuan [US$34.7 billion] in 1997 terms; Guo said, adding that the Yarlung Zangbo, Nu River and Lancang River are capable of providing some 380 billion cubic metres of water annually ; more than enough to cover the 206 billion cubic metres required each year by the project.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

225 billion yuan and 5-8 years to complete.

That is not to Xinjiang but to Yangtze which make little sense in my opinion. Also Yangtze is now just around 6% diverted at the end of north south water transfer. I am not too sure if more water cannot be drawn from Yangtze alone.

A lot of Yangtze water flow into the sea wasted.

 

[haidian]

That is not to Xinjiang but to Yangtze which make little sense in my opinion. Also Yangtze is now just around 6% diverted at the end of north south water transfer. I am not too sure if more water cannot be drawn from Yangtze alone.

No,that plan is to move water to Xinjiang

Chinese scientists have dreamed up yet another mega engineering scheme: to divert water from Tibet's Yarlung Zangbo River, along a course that follows the Tibet-Qinghai railway line to Golmud, through the Gansu Corridor and, finally, to Xinjiang, in north-west China.

The man behind the proposal is Wang Guangqian, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of Tsinghua University's State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering..

 

[Lux de Veritas]

Guo Kai told me the project name was originally chosen to distinguish the scheme from the western route of the South-North Water Transfer project. He came up with the idea as early as 1990: take 201 billion cubic metres of water every year from the Yarlung Zangbo, divert it through the Nu, Nancang, Jinsha, Yalong and Dadu rivers, over the Aba watershed and into the Yellow River. Guo believes this project would not only ease water shortages in the north of China, but also transform desert landscapes, increase farmland, provide power and create jobs.
It would only take five to eight years to build, and cost 225 billion yuan [US$34.7 billion] in 1997 terms; Guo said, adding that the Yarlung Zangbo, Nu River and Lancang River are capable of providing some 380 billion cubic metres of water annually ; more than enough to cover the 206 billion cubic metres required each year by the project.

This is clearly an Yangtze path.

No,that plan is to move water to Xinjiang

Chinese scientists have dreamed up yet another mega engineering scheme: to divert water from Tibet's Yarlung Zangbo River, along a course that follows the Tibet-Qinghai railway line to Golmud, through the Gansu Corridor and, finally, to Xinjiang, in north-west China.

The man behind the proposal is Wang Guangqian, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of Tsinghua University's State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering..

This is a Xinjiang path.

There are only 3% of Yangtze in Zangmu portion of Brahmaputra. Divert water at Medog?

Medog highway opened just few months back and that used to be among the last county without proper road from outside, giving you an idea how difficult and expensive building tunnels in Medog.

Good luck, civil engineers.

墨脱公路_互动百科

 

[indiatester]

@Lux de Veritas
Just for your clarification. India does not bad mouth China. Yes there are provocative articles, but that is just one opinion. Not the majority opinion. We are used to hearing both sides of the opinion in our media, so don't take it as anti-China stance.

On Topic
Diversion of water will affect India and Bangladesh. Brahmaputra gets a lot of water from the southern part of Tibet.