Sufficient water for the Chinese economic powerhouse
The Yellow River, China's second largest river after the Yangtze, has its delta in the northern Chinese lowland plains on the Bohai Sea. The Chinese government is faced with the enormous task of keeping up with the explosive water demand from the delta’s 200 million inhabitants and a booming economy. The recent Olympics in Beijing, situated slightly north of the delta, proved how difficult this can be.
Mega-plan
Over the past 50 years, China has worked hard to control the Yellow River to prevent floods in the delta. The river increasingly runs dry due to decreasing rainfall, however, and there is an insufficient supply of fresh water for the economic powerhouse, as the region is often called. Moreover, the river water is heavily polluted. The Chinese government is developing a mega-plan to clean up the river and increase the water supply in the delta.
Hydropower
The great complexity of the river and its specific sedimentation, the pollution, flood protection and the fresh water supply in the delta will be discussed at Aquaterra 2009. The issues are further complicated by the increasing demand for sustainable energy. The Yellow River already counts dozens of hydropower stations and there is growing pressure to build even more.
For the entire conference programme overview, click here.
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