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To improve the water environment, manual water diversion projects were scheduled to bring freshwater to an urban artificial lake to dilute and divert pollutants out of the lake. A three-dimensional numerical model was used to study the effect of diversion schemes on the transport of dissolved substances by using concepts of water renewal time and water age. The model results showed that the impact of diversion schemes on transport processes was strongly influenced by hydrodynamic conditions induced by inflow/outflow discharges. Shorter water timescales occupied the west and east lake, implying a faster water renewal occurrence therein. Water ages were highly variable, both spatially and temporally. Longer water age was exhibited in the inner lake and bays. An exchange rate of 89.3% was obtained at the 5 m3/s discharge condition under 60 days' duration, with integral renewal time of approximately 50 days. The distribution of water age showed that it only took less than 10 days for the substance discharged at the inlets to be transported to the outlets. The results offer useful information for understanding the efficiency of water exchange by diversion projects and can be used to estimate the water renewal capacity for environmental assessment purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]