By 20:45 Saturday, the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir
had reached 125.40 meters, less than 10 meters from its target of
135 meters.
The reservoir started storing water at 00:00 hours on June 1 as the
sluice gate began to close.
The water level is expected to rise by four to five meters daily in
order to reach 135 meters by June 15. Navigation on the Yangtze
River is expected to resume on June 16 after a lapse of 67
days.
Records from the monitoring department show that, since Sunday, the
reservoir's inflow volume has gradually declined from 12,500 cubic
meters per second to 11,500 cubic meters per second at 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday, approaching the required minimum rate of 11,400 cubic
meters per second.
Fortunately, a much-needed rainfall, which began on Wednesday night
and lasted through Thursday morning, alleviated the situation, and
an additional two-to-three-day rainfall is forecasted for the
period leading up to June 15, according to the local meteorological
station.
(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2003)