China's largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges Dam is discharging more water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

China's largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges Dam is discharging more water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The dam was designed to store water until the end of the Yangtze's flood season, and supply water to the middle and lower reaches in the dry season. The recent discharge will help fight a drought that has plagued central China for months. About 600 million cubic meters of water have already been discharged from the dam, and water levels in the middle and lower reaches of the river have risen recently.

As a result, the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir on the other side of the dam has decreased by one meter. Located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, the three gorges generates electricity, controls flooding by providing storage space and adjusts shipping capacity.