The second phase of raising the Three Gorges Reservoir's water
level to 156 meters began at 10:00 PM on Wednesday, with the
procedure aiming for completion by mid-October.
One of the 13 power-producing generators was shut down, reducing
electricity generation to 5.65 million kw, down from 6.86 million
kw, according to Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Yangtze
River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation. By midnight,
the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir will have risen by
0.6 meters. The level is estimated to reach 156 meters in
mid-October, which would be a milestone in the construction of the
Three Gorges Project.
Earlier in the day, Chongqing municipality, upstream from the
reservoir, launched a massive clean-up campaign to prevent
water-fouling.
The timing of the second phase had been approved by the State
Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFCDRH), said Cao
Guangjing, deputy general manager of the corporation.
SFCDRH has limited the raising of the water level to a maximum
of five meters per day with the volume of water discharged
downstream limited to 8,000-10,000 cubic meters per second so as to
prevent affecting anti-drought efforts and water usage in
downstream areas.
The second phase is one of the most important stages in the
Three Gorges Project on the middle reaches of China's longest
river, the Yangtze.
When the water level reaches 156 meters, the project will
increase power production by 7.85 billion kw/hours annually, while
water storage will rise by 11 billion cubic meters, improving
shipping conditions upstream. The reservoir currently holds 14
billion cubic meters of water.
The water level will rise from the current 135 meters to 148
meters by October 1 and then to 156 meters by mid-October after a
two-day break during which engineers can monitor the effects on the
dam, which was completed in May. Traffic in the dam area has had to
be restricted to one direction, alternating every 24 hours, since
September 15 when work began on a year-long project to raise the
beds of the two topmost tiers of the ship lock from 131 to 139
meters. This will ensure safe navigation when the water level
behind the dam rises to 156 and finally to 175 meters.
The first rise from the natural flow of the Yangtze to 135
meters began on June 1, 2003, when the reservoir was formed.
Meanwhile, Chongqing, the largest industrial city in the Three
Gorges area, began a clean-up campaign with a budget of 4.6 million
yuan (US$575,000). The areas of nine counties and districts in the
municipality will be inundated when the water level rises to 156
meters.
Six hundred workers, with 208 boats and 58 motor vehicles, have
been mobilized to clear the affected areas and the Yangtze's 20
dried-up lesser tributaries of tree branches, solid waste and farm
debris, said Tang Jiali, deputy director of Chongqing Municipal
Environmental Hygiene Bureau. "If this rubbish is not cleared, it
will be washed down into the reservoir, polluting the environment
and endangering shipping."?
About 1.16 million people have been relocated since construction
on the project began in 1993. The 185-meter dam spans 2,309 meters,
housing 26 power generators on banks, and a five-tier, dual-track
ship lock.
The anticipated level of 156 meters resettled 244,500 people
from 13 districts and counties at a cost of 10.27 billion yuan.
By April, 126 billion yuan (US$15.75 billion) had been spent on
construction of the Three Gorges project. A total of 130 billion
kw/h of electricity has been generated since July 2003, earning 25
billion yuan (US$3.125 billion) in revenue.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2006)
