The University of East Anglia stated that they had compiled the first complete Chinese provincial water transfer and redistribution catalogue. Guan Dabo, professor of climate change economics at the International Development Institute, who participated in the study, said that the results of the study indicate that this shift is not sufficient to eliminate the shortage of water supply in China.

“If we want to seriously address pressing water supply pressures, China needs to shift its focus to water resources demand management rather than maintaining a supply-oriented strategy,” Guan Dabo said in a statement. He believes that China's cross-regional water transfer project is still controversial. "Some water scarce areas will be alleviated urgently, but the water-exporting provinces will bear huge risks."

In some provinces, as much as 65% of the water supply is designated for the transfer and redistribution of water and used for infrastructure and the promotion of production and processing trade. Unless China can significantly increase the efficiency of water resources utilization and address the enormous consumption of natural resources caused by the rapid economic and social development, the situation of (water shortages) will continue to deteriorate. Researchers at the University of East Anglia and the University of Leeds have concluded.

The basic knowledge of geography in primary schools tells us that China has one-fifth of the world’s population but only 7% of freshwater resources. However, in addition to the huge supply shortage, the water quality of most of the water bodies in China has also been worse than before, and it has been polluted to varying degrees.

"Water pollution in China is really a big and probably the biggest environmental problem, although it is not as visible as air pollution," Guan Dabo said via email. Tilosen of the Water Research Center at the University of Leeds said: "Even if China improves the efficiency of the use of agricultural and industrial water in the future, China's limited water resources will still not be sufficient to meet the demand arising from economic and population growth."

China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project was established in 2002. Through the three major channel systems of the East, Central and West, the Yangtze River’s abundant water resources are transported to the northern part of the dry and driest rains, and across the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and Haihe River basins. The first-phase project of the 1,430-kilometer project on the middle line was officially opened on the 12th of last month, so that residents of Beijing, Tianjin and other places could use the water from Hubei to wash vegetables or shower. Xinhua News Agency reports that the total water transfer scale of the project is 44.8 billion cubic meters, and the water supply area is 1.45 million square kilometers, benefiting 438 million people