The silt deposits in the lower reaches of the Yellow River still
pose a threat to the lives and property of people living in the
river valley, according to experts.
The conclusion appeared in a report published yesterday about
China's first ever experiment to readjust the water and silt in the
country's second-longest river.
The river's principal problem has always been the silt deposits
caused by exceptionally high levels of sediment.
The river bed in the lower reaches rose to a level above that of
the surrounding fields, leading to the Yellow River being described
as a "hanging river."
But things have got even worse. A substantial amount of sediment
left behind has contributed to the silting of the river channel.
This has significantly raised the river bed and built up another
"hanging river" on the base of the first one.
The 17-day experiment conducted last July and August showed that
the speed of the current flow in the lower reaches of the river is
less than 3,000 cubic meters per second.
In
the 1980s and 1990s, the water flow in the river's lower reaches
was 5,000 cubic metres per second.
The second "hanging river" extends about 900 kilometers from
Jiahetan hydrological station in the city of Kaifeng in Central
China's Henan Province to the river's estuary in the Bohai Sea.
In
one 80-kilometre section, considered the most seriously affected
part, the river bed is 4 meters higher than the surrounding
beach.
A
China Central Television news report quoted Yellow River Water
Conservation Committee sources as saying that the river bed in the
lower reaches is growing higher and higher, greatly increasing the
risk of flooding and the breaching of dykes. The consequences are
potentially disastrous, the sources said.
Experts attributed the phenomenon to chronic dry weather and the
rising amount of industrial and agricultural intake from the
river.
(China Daily January 20, 2003)