The water level of Ganjiang, the second largest tributary of the
Yangtze River in southeast China's Jiangxi Province, hit a record low on
Thursday.
By 8 AM, the water level of Ganjiang was 14.6 meters, six
centimeters below its previous record set in 1949, according to an
expert with the Hydrological Bureau of Nanchang, capital of
Jiangxi.
Rainfall from the beginning of the year to Wednesday was only
79.44 millimeters, 32 percent lower than last year.
The Ganjiang River supplies water for over half of the 43
million people in Jiangxi.
According to the expert, the low water level would not result in
drinking water shortages for the time being, as the four water
factories in Nanchang had deepened their water pumping pipes by two
to three meters after a drought in 2003.
In addition, the spring plowing season has yet to start, so the
impact of the low water level is limited.
According to estimates by the provincial meteorological station,
Jiangxi will see showers next week.
(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2007)
