In a world marked by an unprecedented climate crisis, where more than 3 billion people live under severe water stress and underground reserves are depleting faster than nature can replenish them, a new vision emerges: water as the axis of resilience and prosperity. In this context, the Wang’edu Reservoir to Jingbian Water Diversion Project in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, represents a bold and innovative response to one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: ensuring sustainable access to water in arid regions through integrated, technological, and replicable solutions.
Located on the northern Loess Plateau, this project stands as the core of the water resource distribution system that connects Yulin, Jingbian, and Yan’an, creating a strategic water corridor capable of transforming the socioeconomic dynamics of the region. More than just infrastructure, it is a lever of resilience that integrates reservoirs, lakes, and cascades into a single system, linking nature and engineering to restore hydrological balance in one of the driest areas of the country. Its purpose is to reverse decades of aquifer overexploitation and water stress that threaten both industrial development and environmental sustainability, ensuring a stable supply that drives the transition toward a circular and low-carbon water economy.
The project is framed within the Water Positive and fully complies with the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality defined by the VWBA 2.0 framework, becoming a benchmark for responsible and verified water management in China. Its multi-stakeholder approach includes local government, water operators, and technology companies to ensure that every cubic meter transferred represents a real hydrological benefit for the basin.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian Project is a strategic hydraulic infrastructure designed to transform water management in one of the country’s most arid regions. It arises in a context of aquifer depletion, groundwater level declines of up to 1.5 meters per year, and per capita water availability less than one-third of the national average. This critical situation made it urgent to implement a solution capable of guaranteeing water security, reducing pressure on underground ecosystems, and sustaining industrial and urban expansion in northern Shaanxi.
The technical opportunity lies in an 82 km transfer system that combines staged pressurization and gravity flow through reinforced concrete and ductile iron pipes rated at 1.6 MPa, achieving a flow of 3.8 m³/s and an annual volume of 120 million m³. Pumping stations operate with high-efficiency permanent magnet synchronous motors and variable frequency drives, optimizing energy efficiency by 20% and generating annual savings of 5.2 million kWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of over 2,000 households. Control is managed through a BIM+GIS platform that integrates real-time monitoring of flow, pressure, energy, and water quality, ensuring traceability, precision, and operational resilience.
The immediate benefits are measurable: a 25% reduction in groundwater extraction, a 30% improvement in supply security, 250 hectares of ecological restoration with more than 90% vegetative coverage, and a reduction of 2,400 tons of suspended solids per year. This performance combines technical efficiency, positive environmental impact, and economic return through lower energy consumption and optimized resources.
The project is driven by Yulin Water Group in partnership with an engineering consortium and hydraulic automation companies, under the environmental and financial supervision of the provincial government. Its model is fully replicable in other water-stressed basins, integrating digital governance, energy efficiency, and ecological restoration. Acting now is essential: each year without such solutions deepens aquifer deterioration and increases the social and economic costs of scarcity. For companies with ESG commitments, participating in such projects means not only meeting international standards but also leading a tangible and verifiable story of hydrological transformation with real benefits for communities and the planet.
The project’s implementation follows an integrated approach to engineering and environmental management, structured in interdependent technical phases. In the design stage, hydrological and climate modeling defined the baseline and future variability scenarios, ensuring resilience against changes in rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts. During construction, a hybrid conveyance system combining staged pressurization, efficient pumping, and gravity-assisted flow was implemented, using high-efficiency motors and smart sensors connected to a BIM+GIS network for dynamic infrastructure control. This technological architecture anticipates operational anomalies, optimizes energy use, and maintains continuous flow even during partial interruptions.
In operation, energy recovery systems and gravity conveyance reduce total electricity use and indirect CO₂ emissions. Facilities include sedimentation basins and constructed wetlands that act as natural filters, improving water quality and retaining sediments and contaminants before distribution. This hybrid solution, combining gray infrastructure with natural processes and digital management, was selected after comparing alternatives such as continuous pumping or open-channel transport, demonstrating higher hydraulic efficiency, lower energy footprint, and significantly reduced operating costs.
The system’s operational capacity reaches 120 million m³ annually, directly benefiting over 350,000 people and the Jingbian energy-chemical industrial park. The solution simultaneously addresses water scarcity, aquifer overexploitation, and environmental degradation through a technology that integrates digital control, ecological restoration, and energy efficiency. Its design aligns with Water Positive and VWBA principles, additionality, traceability, and intentionality, ensuring measurable benefits in volume, quality, and sustainability.
Quantifiable benefits include a 25% reduction in groundwater extraction, annual energy savings of 5.2 million kWh, and a 30% improvement in regional water security. Environmentally, 32 million m³ of natural aquifer recharge are expected each year, along with 250 hectares of vegetation recovery and an annual reduction of 2,400 tons of suspended solids. Socially, the project ensures stable supply, improves public health, and generates over 500 direct and indirect local jobs, strengthening the regional economy and public perception of sustainable investment.
Identified operational risks include pump failures, surface erosion, pressure loss, and hydrological variability. To mitigate these, redundancies were added to pumping stations, SCADA systems with automated alarms, predictive maintenance protocols, and emergency contingency plans. Environmentally, vegetated buffer strips and natural purification systems reduce erosion and improve ecological resilience. Long-term climate resilience is ensured through diversified water sources, continuous quality monitoring, and shared governance between local authorities and technical operators. Specific protocols prevent critical failures such as saline intrusion, accidental contamination, and extreme event impacts through annual scenario simulations.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian model is fully scalable and replicable in other arid or semi-arid basins in northern China and equivalent regions of the Asian arid belt. Its competitiveness lies in its optimized operational cost per cubic meter transferred, energy efficiency above the national average, and socio-environmental return validated by VWBA indicators. Public-private partnerships and technological integration make the model easily expandable to other contexts, providing a clear roadmap toward a resilient, climate-adapted water economy.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian Project follows a phased and adaptive implementation approach consistent with VWBA 2.0 standards. The process unfolds in five integrated stages: diagnosis, design, installation, validation, and continuous operation.
During the diagnostic stage, hydrological, geotechnical, and energy studies established the baseline: groundwater levels, water quality, flow rates, and energy use. This information defined measurable targets for savings, regeneration, and efficiency, serving as a reference for “with vs. without project” comparisons. The design stage selected a hybrid pumping and gravity system optimized through hydraulic modeling in BIM+GIS, prioritizing reliability, energy efficiency, and climate resilience.
The installation phase included construction of 82 km of conduits, three pumping stations, five regulating tanks, and installation of IoT sensors, electromagnetic flowmeters, and multiparameter quality probes. Each unit was integrated into the central SCADA system to ensure digital traceability from reservoir to delivery points. Simultaneously, 250 hectares of vegetation restoration and creation of natural purification wetlands were executed as biological barriers enhancing infiltration.
During validation, key performance indicators (KPIs) were set: pumped volume, energy consumption, evaporation losses, hydraulic efficiency, physicochemical parameters, and regional piezometry. Measurements are continuous via online sensors and quarterly audits, complemented by lab analyses and satellite monitoring of vegetation cover. Results are benchmarked against the baseline and reported in VWBA format, ensuring consistency and external verifiability.
The continuous operation phase applies preventive and predictive maintenance, with monthly inspections, semi-annual sensor calibration, and permanent monitoring of pressure and flow. The system generates automatic alarms for deviations and daily energy/hydraulic performance reports. Data are stored in a certified cloud with blockchain backup, ensuring physical and digital traceability. Independent verifiers annually review impact reports and issue Water Positive compliance certifications.
Governance involves Yulin Water Group, the provincial Water Resources Authority, and a specialized technical operator. Management of transferred water follows agreements prioritizing sustainable urban and industrial supply while maintaining minimum ecological flows. A maintenance plan includes emergency protocols, pump replacements, filter cleaning, and technological upgrades every five years.
Monitoring and continuous improvement are based on comparing the with-project and without-project scenarios. Data feedback into the BIM+GIS platform enables process optimization, energy parameter adjustment, and predictive demand algorithm updates. This adaptive management system ensures that benefits, reduced extractions, energy savings, quality improvement, and climate resilience, remain over time and are verifiable throughout the project’s lifecycle.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian diversion combines advanced engineering, environmental management, and digital governance to transform the water future of the Loess Plateau. With an investment of 4.6 billion yuan and an annual supply of 120 million m³, the project balances demand, efficiency, and resilience. Its contribution to the Water Positive and VWBA 2.0 frameworks consolidates a new water economy based on data, transparency, and verifiable benefits. Each cubic meter transferred symbolizes an opportunity to restore ecosystems, revitalize communities, and demonstrate that sustainability can be measured, replicated, and scaled.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian Diversion Project is an advanced hydraulic engineering intervention designed to ensure sustainable water supply in one of China’s most arid regions. Technically, the main intervention involves the transport and redistribution of surface water resources through a pressurized and gravity-assisted system designed to reduce dependence on underground aquifers. The system comprises 82 km of conduits, three high-efficiency pumping stations, and five regulating tanks. The stations use permanent magnet synchronous motors with variable frequency drives to adjust power according to demand and reduce energy losses. Each system component is controlled by a network of IoT sensors integrated into a BIM+GIS platform, enabling real-time visualization, measurement, and adjustment of hydraulic performance. This hybrid infrastructure is complemented by constructed wetlands and natural purification areas that improve water quality before final distribution.
The project complies with China’s national water resource regulations, ISO 14046 (water footprint), ISO 50001 (energy management), and WHO water quality guidelines. Moreover, its design principles align with the EU framework for sustainable infrastructure and VWBA 2.0 guidelines, ensuring additionality, traceability, and intentionality in all accounted volumes.
The relevance of this solution lies in reversing the structural water degradation of the northern Loess Basin, where aquifer overexploitation and desertification threatened regional socioeconomic stability. Before the project, the area depended almost entirely on groundwater extraction with annual declines of 1.5 m. After commissioning, aquifer pressure is reduced by 25%, and a sustainable balance is restored through the controlled transfer of 120 million m³ per year. This intervention not only stabilizes the water balance but also creates a replicable model of efficient, low-carbon water supply with measurable ecological and social benefits.
The expected results are concrete and verifiable: annual savings of 5.2 million kWh, 32 million m³ of natural aquifer recharge, 2,400 tons/year reduction of suspended solids, and a 30% improvement in water security. Environmentally, the project increases vegetative cover by 90%, contributes to carbon capture, and reduces CO₂ emissions associated with hydraulic energy. Social benefits include stable supply for over 350,000 inhabitants and local job creation during all project phases.
Strategically, this infrastructure represents a key asset within the region’s Water Positive roadmap and integrates into the corporate strategy aligned with SBTi, NPWI, and ESRS E3 frameworks. Tangible ESG benefits include strengthened social license to operate, enhanced environmental reputation, and positioning participating companies as leaders in water transition. Governance includes independent external verification and standardized reporting under the VWBA framework for audits and continuous tracking.
The Wang’edu–Jingbian model can be replicated in other arid or semi-arid basins across northern and western China, as well as internationally in regions with similar hydrological conditions such as Central Asia or North Africa. Its scalability relies on system modularity, energy efficiency, and full digitalization, facilitating adaptation to different flows and demand levels. Public-private collaboration between the Shaanxi government, Yulin Water Group, and technology companies specializing in automation and water management creates a solid institutional foundation for replication.
The final expected impact transcends the local scale. The project directly contributes to basin water balance, enhances resilience against climate change, and strengthens the water security of Jingbian’s industrial region. It also promotes sustainable economic development, reduces rural community vulnerability, and sends a clear message to investors and society: that water sustainability can be a driver of growth
