Reservoirs Have Little In Reserve

Photo retrieved from: www.panaromio.com

“BEIJING – Nearly 1,600 water reservoirs in Central China’s Hubei province are running at the minimum water level needed for operation, forecasting a prolonged dry spell over the parched province, the local drought relief authority said on Monday.

As of Sunday, the province’s reservoir water storage stood at 9.75 billion cubic meters, a 40-percent decrease from last year. The low water level makes it unlikely the drought can be eased, with two earlier rounds of rainfall but no more forecast in May, the statement said.

The lasting drought has so far affected 889,000 hectares of crops and left 761,000 people and 175,000 livestock in the province short of drinking water.

Hanjiang River, a major branch of the Yangtze River in Hubei, has almost dried up and put a huge strain on irrigation supplies for paddy fields along its range.

The water level of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, part of China’s massive South-to-North Water Diversion Project, dropped to 4 meters below the minimum level.

Honghu Lake, the biggest lake in the province, has seen one-fourth of its 35,300-hectare area dry up, stranding thousands of fishing boats. The water level reaches 30 cm in the deepest areas, where it used to stand at two to three meters.

Hubei Governor Wang Guosheng, also chief of the Yangtze River flood control and drought relief headquarters, said on Monday that the river has experienced the lowest level of rainfall since 1961, with 40 to 60 percent less rainfall on average in drought-stricken provinces in its middle and lower reaches including Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi.”

Read more: China Daily