Pipe suspended between mountains brings fresh water to villagers

nestled in a karst landform at an average altitude of 600 meters, longchi village in changyang tujia autonomous county endured water shortages for years. 

zhao lihua, party chief of the village, said finding a water source for the diversion project was challenging because the village was surrounded by sheer mountains, and water resources were hidden in a secluded corner in deep mountains.

"at that time, the water conservancy department of changyang county, after many on-site investigations and demonstrations, finally decided to extradite the spring water from the nearby gaolaihe village by setting up a flying line." said fu jianbin, director of the water conservancy and lakes bureau of changyang tujia autonomous county.

in august 2018, changyang implemented the rural drinking water safety consolidation and improvement project, and the water delivery project started construction. however, to erect heavy and thick steel cables and water pipes between two mountains, the construction difficulty can be imagined.

according to tian kangji, the person in charge of construction, the workers fastened safety ropes and pulled 0.4 cm thick steel cables from the top of the mountain on the opposite bank to the surface of the dabutan river. the two steel cables were docked in the middle of the river by boat, and then a winch was used. straighten the cable. then use a thin steel cable to pull a steel cable with a larger diameter across the opposite bank.

in this way, steel cables and water pipes with a larger diameter are sequentially erected between the two mountains. the thick steel rope used to hang the water pipe has a diameter of 2.6 cm and a length of nearly 1,500 meters. it took 17 days to erect one. the construction team recalled to the yangtze river, “we fastened the safety rope and pulled 0.4 cm thick steel cables from the top of the mountain on the opposite bank to the zhaolaihe reservoir. we took the boat to connect the two steel cables in the middle of the river, and then used a winch to connect the two steel cables. straighten the steel cable, and then use a thin steel cable to pull the steel cable with a larger diameter across the other side." construction team member yin yunshou said that during that period, in order to save construction time, he and his workers carried boiling water, steamed buns, and biscuits every day.

on june 2, 2019, a water pipe stretching over 1,480 meters between two lofty mountains that is suspended 600 meters above the ground has brought safe drinking water to 305 households in a village in hubei province.