How a single Chinese river sustains thirty million lives
In short: Flowing through the heart of southern China, the Dong River is more than a tributary of the Pearl River. It is a vital lifeblood, powering massive industrial hubs and providing the essential fresh water that has allowed cities like Hong Kong to expand for decades.
The Dong River serves as the easternmost main tributary of the Pearl River, originating in the Dayu Mountains at Mount Yajibo in Jiangxi. Its basin covers 35,340 square kilometers, discharging roughly 807.5 cubic meters of water per second. This massive hydrological system provides the primary water supply for a vast network of urban centers, including Heyuan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, and eastern Guangzhou, supporting a total population of over 30 million people.
The river's role in regional stability became critical in the 1960s. As Hong Kong's population surged, the government sought efficient ways to meet rising freshwater demands. On November 15, 1960, an agreement was reached with Guangdong authorities to extract 23 million cubic meters of water annually from the Shenzhen Reservoir, which is connected to the Dong River. Since then, twelve separate supply agreements have been signed, each driven by Hong Kong's projected needs for industry, commerce, and residential growth.
The scale of this engineering feat has grown exponentially. Through the construction of new pumping stations and dams, the annual volume rose to 620 million cubic meters. By 1990, upgrades to existing stations pushed the volume to 1.7 billion cubic meters. Of this, 1.1 billion cubic meters are destined for Hong Kong, 493 million for Shenzhen, and 150 million for river irrigation.
However, rapid industrialization in the Pearl River delta during the 20th century brought significant challenges. Worsening water quality forced authorities to move intake points further upstream and build new sewage treatment plants. Yet, the river's legacy is not just industrial; in Heyuan, the river's soft soil has helped preserve dinosaur fossils, including 66-million-year-old eggs discovered by a primary school student in 2019.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Dong River (China)
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