Statistics from the Buha River Ria Hydrometric Station show that
water levels at Qinghai
Lake have already risen by 30 centimeters this summer. With
evaporation rates three times higher than water accumulation,
Qinghai Lake should enjoy at least another 10 centimeters rise in
water levels by the end of the year. The phenomenon of falling
water levels at Qinghai Lake may have been reversed this year by
improved ecological protection measures.
Pei Shengshan, head of the Buha River Ria Hydrometric Station,
said, "Water levels at Qinghai Lake have fallen at an average rate
of between 6 to 8 centimeters per year for the past 20 years,
according to the hydrometric station's long-term survey. In years
of drought, water levels have declined even more dramatically." For
instance, the water levels fell by some 20 centimeters in 2001.
However, the lake has risen by comparatively high degree this year.
The main reason for this remarkable change is that the amount of
precipitation collected from the lake's surrounding regions has
increased markedly. Meanwhile, eco-protection projects, such as the
return of 226,000-mu (37,750 acres) of farmland to forests
and grasslands, are now beginning to take effect.
Buha River is the largest tributary of the Qinghai Lake, supplying
more than half the lake's total water supply. This year,
considerable precipitation has been recorded in the river's
valleys, and the seasonal floods arrived a month earlier than
usual, commencing on June 6. Water levels didn't stop rising until
August 20.
The runoff from adjoining areas has increased by as much as three
to four times previous years, giving the Buha River the third
highest water levels in recorded history. The concentration of such
large amounts of water has seen the water levels of Qinghai Lake
rise rapidly this year.
The leader of Kangtsa's Quanji community, near Bird Island,
provided on site evidence of this year's rise in water levels to a
reporter from People's Daily. He pointed out both last
year's and this year's water marks on the banks of the river
indicating that the body of water had expanded by some 7 to 8
meters.
(china.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, September 20, 2002)
