Massive water diversion project poses environmental dilemma(2)

In Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province, engineers have raised the height of a dam on the Han River. In 2014, the level of the reservoir behind the dam -- the largest man-made lake in Asia -- will rise so water can flow north along channels stretching 1,277 kilometers.

Progress on pollution control is well-advanced in the provinces of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi, but maintaining the cleanliness of the water is a major challenge.

Over the past five years, 6.1 billion yuan (969.8 million U.S. dollars) has been invested in building sewage and garbage treatment facilities, as well as dealing with pollution from factories and in nearly 700 small tributaries, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 polluting firms, including paper mills, pharmaceutical factories and mineral processing plants, have been shut down. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and local governments have seen their annual revenues shrink by billions of yuan.