The city of Yantai in Shandong province for the first time diverted water from the Yellow River to ease its drought and the project was completed on July 12, eight months before the deadline, according to an announcement of Yantai municipal government.

Since last October, Yantai has been suffering from severe drought. After all-round research and discussion, the government authorities had decided to divert water from the Yellow River.

With support from provincial water authorities, this project came into operation on April 25, 2015. The 80-day work brought a total of 3.15 million cubic meter water into Yantai. It covered counties of Laizhou, Zhaoyuan, Longkou and Penglai. The diverted water helped ensure the water supply of the four counties in 2015.

The investment of this project reached 435 million yuan ($72.5 million), which was used to build five new pump stations, 47.5 kilometer pipelines and expand a reservoir.

Significantly, the project, which was supposed to be finished in one year, got completed within four months! It was a great joint effort of government departments.