Several water stations between Zhengyangguan and Lutaizi section of the Huaihe River in east China's Anhui Province have seen their water levels reaching record heights.

Figures released Sunday by the State Flood Control and Drought Prevention Headquarters revealed that the water level at Zhengyangguan Hydrologic Station reached 26.8 meters at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, 0.25 meters higher than its past record.

At the Lutaizi Water Station, a new record of 26.51 meters, about 0.51 meters higher than its predecessor, was set later at around 11:00 p.m.

At 6:00 a.m. Sunday, the water level at Huainan Hydrologic Station rose to 24.15 meters, 0.12 meters higher than its past record.

The record water levels could be attributed to the earlier flood diversion efforts at the Qiujia Lake and water storage efforts at the Chengdong Lake, sources with the headquarters said.

As the flood crests of the Huaihe River marched toward the lower reaches, water levels at the river sections lower than Wangjiaba remained 1.43 to 3.22 meters higher than their alert levels.

At the section between Runheji and Lutaizi, water levels were reported to be 0.24 to 0.42 meters above their warning marks.

At the Jiangba Hydrologic Station of the Hongze Lake, the water level was reported around 14.27 meters at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, about 0.77 meters higher than its alert level.

With a discharge runoff of 12,100 cubic meters per second, the Hongze Lake supplies water to the Yellow Sea at a rate of 1,560 cubic meters per second.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2003)