Millions of dollars have been spent on dredging and expanding a “dangerously weak” reservoir in central China that was built in 1958 during Mao Zedong’s disastrous Great Leap Forward. A pilot project, with a reported budget of $490 million, is attempting to resolve long-standing sediment issues in Suyahu Reservoir in Zhumadian City, Henan Province. Begining in 2018, the Suyahu project plans to dredge 37.75 million cubic meters (9.97 billion gallons) in the reservoir and would be completed in 2022, according to state media China Daily.  Wu Guoding, vice governor of the province, said in March that it’s expected to be a “high-quality project” that will also provide “experience” for the dredging and expanding of other large reservoirs in China. The reservoir controls a watershed area of 61 percent of the Ru River, a branch of Huai River that originates in Henan Province. But the project and the reservoir have serious issues. Wang Weiluo, a …