Heavy rainstorms have been hitting multiple provinces in China, with the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River continuing to increase its flood discharge, exacerbating the flood risk. Just a week ago, the embankment of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province was sealed to block a breach. However, due to the increased discharge from the Three Gorges Reservoir on the Yangtze River, the water level of Dongting Lake has risen again, posing a serious flood control situation. Experts have pointed out that the current floodwater volume is only at the level of an average annual flood, questioning the effectiveness of the dam’s flood control measures as officials claim that “the pressure on the Three Gorges Reservoir is significant.”
From July 10 to 14, the Three Gorges Dam started releasing water from one gate, which was increased to eight gates by the 15th and further to nine gates on the morning of the 16th. According to Xinhua News Agency, on July 16, the Yangtze River Commission issued an order to increase the number of flood discharge gates at the Three Gorges Reservoir to nine.
According to the prediction by the Hunan Provincial Hydrological Center, the water level of Dongting Lake is rising again due to the increased discharge from the Three Gorges Reservoir. It is expected that some hydrological stations may reach or exceed the alert level, leading to another severe flood control situation. By 9 a.m. on the 16th, the water level outside the Tuanzhou dike in Dongting Lake was 0.44 meters higher than the accumulated water inside the dike.
Previously, on the afternoon of July 5th, the embankment of Dongting Lake in Tuanzhou Village, Tuanbei Township, Huarong County, collapsed, with the breach expanding to 226 meters at one point, submerging an area of 47.64 square kilometers of farmland, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate overnight. The breach was eventually sealed on the night of the 8th.
Concerns have been raised by netizens on the 16th who shared videos, reporting that the Three Gorges Dam has opened nine gates, with the water level rising by another one to two meters since the previous afternoon, leading to concerns about reaching the limit of gate openings.
Official media reported that as of 11 p.m. on July 14th, the water level at the Three Gorges Reservoir had reached 166.03 meters, significantly higher than the average level for the same period. Due to the anticipated continuous heavy rainfall in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the next ten days, maintaining the current water level could pose a higher flood control pressure if faced with major upstream flooding. To address this, the Yangtze River Commission decided on July 14th to accelerate the lowering of the Three Gorges Reservoir water level to 160 meters or below, ensuring sufficient flood control capacity.
Renowned hydraulic expert Wang Weiluo has questioned the flood control function of the Three Gorges Reservoir. According to his analysis for Epoch Times, official data indicated that on July 12th at 7 p.m., the water level at Cuntan in Chongqing was 179.88 meters with a flow rate of 41,700 cubic meters per second, while the water level at the Three Gorges Dam was 164.15 meters, indicating a significant 15.73-meter difference between Chongqing and the dam. Wang emphasized that the current flow rate is far from reaching the level of a once-in-twenty-year flood that would justify the “significant pressure on the Three Gorges Reservoir” as stated by officials.
Wang further explained that the flood control benefits of the Three Gorges Project are largely attributed to the reservoir’s flood control capacity of 22.15 billion cubic meters between elevations of 145 meters and 175 meters behind the dam. As the current water level is far from the 175-meter mark, he argued that the reservoir should still be capable of providing flood control. However, considering the current flow rate and water levels, the flood situation from the Three Gorges Dam to Chongqing is severe, though there is limited information available, indicating strict control measures in place that restrict the dissemination of disaster-related news.
In recent days, heavy rain has affected several provinces across the country. The China Meteorological Administration continued to issue orange alerts for heavy rain at 10 a.m. on July 16th. It is projected that from 2 p.m. on the 16th to 2 p.m. on the 17th, parts of central and southern Henan, central and southern Shandong, northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, and western Sichuan Basin will experience heavy to torrential rain, with localized areas in southeastern Henan and northern Anhui expecting severe rainfall of 250 to 300 millimeters. Additionally, some areas in northeastern Inner Mongolia, northwestern Heilongjiang, along the southern coasts of Guangxi, and southern coasts of Guangdong, Hainan Island, and southeastern regions will see heavy to torrential rain.
The Chinese Communist Party’s official claim that reservoir construction can “regulate droughts and floods” has been proving otherwise, resulting in “diverting water in the dry season and discharging floods in the rainy season.” Recently, many large reservoirs in China have been discharging water abruptly, exacerbating flood disasters, with some areas resorting to secretive nighttime water releases that have led to more severe losses in both lives and property downstream. Prior protests against official flood discharge practices causing disasters have been reported in places like Guangxi and Fujian.