SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A water conservancy project was put into effect on Friday to divert water from the Yellow River to Baiyangdian Lake in northern China's Hebei Province.

The 482-km-long diversion route started in Puyang City, Henan Province in central China, where the Yellow River water flows naturally through a sluice gate and runs northward before reaching Baiyangdian in the Xiongan New Area.

The Yellow River, China's second longest waterway, becomes a sustained water source to support and improve the lake's wetland ecosystem. It is the first permanent water conservancy project after the establishment of the Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

The diversion will last 28 days, supplying the lake with 35 million cubic meters of water.

This will effectively ensure the water level of Baiyangdian Lake and improve its water environment, said Li Qingshan, an official in charge of the water pumping station for the diversion project at the lake.

According to a protection plan on Baiyangdian Lake, its water level will remain at 6.5 to 7 meters with an area of 360 square km. To realize this, the diversion project will supplement 110 million cubic meters of water to the lake each year.