国内英语新闻:Beijing receives over 2 bln cubic meters of water from Yangtze

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has received more than 2 billion cubic meters of diverted water from the Yangtze River, benefiting 11 million residents, authorities have said.

As of Wednesday, the south-to-north water diversion project has pumped over 2 billion cubic meters of water into Beijing since it began operation in December 2014, according to the capital's office for the diversion project.

Water supply companies in Beijing have taken in 1.37 billion cubic meters of Yangtze water, or 68 percent of the total received volume. In addition, 284 million cubic meters were stored in reservoirs, with the rest used for groundwater, rivers and lakes.

"Data shows the quality of the Yangtze water flowing into Beijing is stable and meets standards. The water diversion runs smoothly and the facility is safe," said an official of the office.

Currently, the daily water flow to Beijing via the project is about 1.05 million cubic meters.

Directly benefiting more than 11 million residents, or about half of Beijing's population, the water diversion relieves water supply pressure on the city.

Before the diversion, Beijing's water sources were mainly underground and susceptible to calcium and magnesium salts.

The middle route of the south-to-north water diversion project carries water through canals and pipes from the Danjiangkou reservoir in central China's Hubei Province to the provinces of Henan and Hebei, as well as the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.