The Yangtze-Hanjiang Water Diversion Works is one of the projects aimed to regulate the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. It is designed to divert water from the Jingjiang section of the Yangtze River to the Xinglong section of the Hanjiang River in Gaoshibei Town. Upon completion, the channel will extend for about 67.23 kilometers, and the total ananul water transfer quantity would achieve 3.7 billion cubic meters, about 3.1 billion cubic meters of water would be diverted to the Hanjiang River and the rest of 0.6 billion cubic meters of water to the Dongjing River. The main goal of the project is to make up for water loss in sections of the Hanjiang River below Xinglong caused by Phase I of the Middle Line of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and to improve the ecology, irrigation, water supply, and shipping conditions in affected sections of the rivers.
The Yangtze-Hanjiang Water Diversion Works is designed to feed the Hanjiang River with water from the main course of the Yangtze River by connecting the Yangtze River and the Hanjiang River (the largest tributary of the Yangtze River) with a man-made canal. As planned, the project will divert water from Longzhouhuan on the Jingzhou section of the Yangtze River to Gaoshibei on the Qianjiang section of the Hanjiang River, covering a total length of 67.1 kilometers. Its main purpose is to provide the areas below the Xinglong section of the Hanjiang River with eco-environmental water, irrigation water, water for domestic use, and shipping water.
According to the South-to-North Water Diversion Project Construction Management Bureau of Hubei Province, the Yangtze-Hanjiang Water Diversion Works, when completed, will resolve the "algal bloom" issue caused by the 9.5 billion cubic meters of water loss in the Hanjiang River resulting from Phase I of the Middle Line of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. It will also supplement the Dongjing River with irrigation water, and make up for the water reduction in the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River caused by the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.