The water level in the Three Gorges reservoir reached the 156-meter mark at 9:50 a.m. on Friday, a rise of 20 meters since Sept. 20, when this stage of water storage plan was kicked off.

 

"The Three Gorges project has realized the second phase water storage plan," announced Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation (CTGC). The 156-meter water storage signifies that the Three Gorges Project started to exert its comprehensive functions of flood-control, power generation and navigation control, said Li.

 

Figures from Cascaded Dispatch Center of the CTGC suggested that Yangtze River water is entering the reservoir at 15,000 cubic meters per second. All 14 units of 700,000-kw generators powered by water discharge are operating in full capacity.

 

The reservoir has stored up some 10.5 billion cubic meters of water. Data sent from 7,000 monitoring devices planted in the Three Gorges Dam indicated the gigantic concrete dam remains stable under the current water pressure.

 

Launched in 1993, construction of the gigantic concrete structure of the Three Gorges dam was completed and began to hold water in May this year. Before it, the reservoir's temporary cofferdams held water at around 135 to 139 meters high.

 

The water level in the reservoir will eventually reach 175 meters in 2009, when the Three Gorges project is finally completed.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2006)