Three Gorges Reservoir starts storing 175 meters of water in 2023
According to the officially approved "Three Gorges Reservoir 2023 Water Storage Plan" by the Ministry of Water Resources, the Three Gorges Reservoir officially began storing 175 meters of water on September 10, 2023.
175 meters is the normal water storage level designed for the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Hub project. The Three Gorges Reservoir stores water at the end of each year's flood season, gradually releasing and freeing up storage capacity from the dry season to the next year's flood season. It is regulated by "storing abundant water and replenishing depleted water" to provide strong support for the navigation, water supply, ecology, power generation and other needs of the Yangtze River Basin in the winter and spring of that year. As of December 2022, the Three Gorges Project has cumulatively replenished over 330 billion cubic meters of water for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
China Three Gorges Corporation stated that it will strictly follow the approval requirements and optimize the water storage process in real time based on the rolling forecast of the spatiotemporal distribution of incoming water, while meeting the needs of all parties. This will ensure that the Three Gorges Reservoir is stored to a normal water level of 175 meters. At the same time, it will strengthen the safety monitoring of the hub and geological inspections of the reservoir bank during the water storage period, and successfully complete this year's water storage task while ensuring the safety of the hub project, reservoir bank, and upstream and downstream flood control.
On September 4th, the 2023 joint water storage plan for cascade reservoirs in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River was approved by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources. At this point, the water storage plan for the Yangtze River main stream cascade reservoirs under the jurisdiction of Three Gorges Group has been fully approved.
In addition, according to the hydrometeorological forecast, there will be a heavy rainfall process from west to east in the Yangtze River basin from September 10 to 15, with moderate to heavy rain as the main intensity and local rainstorm.