Water Pollution and Sustainable Utilization of the Jing Hang Grand Canal in China

The Jing Hang Grand Canal of China is the longest and earliest water conservancy project in the world. Its total length is more than 1,790 kilometers, 10 times longer than the Suez Canal, 20 times longer than the Panama Canal, and it is the world\´s longest man-made canal. It goes through 2500 years since Chinese Spring and Autumn period as an inland river, which had played an important role in the field of canal navigation, military affairs, political affair and culture in the past 2500 years. Until now, the Jining to Hangzhou part of the canal (900 km in length) isn\´t only the main artery for " north to south coal transportation project", " south to north commissariat transportation project" and " south to north water transfer project", but also the only traffic and transportation network which interlaces rivers, lakes and channels together in China. The purpose of this paper expounded present water pollution situation in each section, analyzed the future trend of water environment and its challenges, urged the importance and urgency to protect the Jing Hang Grand Canal environmental. Rational proposals for the remediation of water pollution were suggested. This paper has the realistic meaning for the economic sustainable development of the Jing Hang Grand Canal region and its surrounding cities under the rapid urbanization in China.