Jilin city’s Fengman reservoir has been releasing floodwaters for over a week, causing downstream flooding. Currently, official reports indicate that 25 large and medium-sized reservoirs in Jilin province are releasing floodwaters. While authorities attribute the flooding in Jilin to heavy rainfall, local residents believe the flooding of the Songhua River is not related to rain but rather to the reservoir releases. They argue that the reservoirs are no longer functioning properly, causing them to hold water during droughts and release it during floods.
On the afternoon of August 7th, after 7 days and 8 nights of releasing floodwaters, the Fengman reservoir officially stopped the release at 4 p.m. that day. The reservoir started releasing water on July 31st at 6 a.m., with official reports stating a maximum discharge flow of 4700 cubic meters per second, although there are online claims from residents that the actual discharge reached 6000 cubic meters per second. The daily discharge volume of the Fengman reservoir is around 350 million cubic meters.
The Jilin Provincial Water Resources Department recently announced on social media that the Songhua River, Dongliao River, Lalin River, and Yinma River have exceeded their flood warning levels, with 25 reservoirs operating above their flood limit levels, including 9 large reservoirs and 12 medium-sized reservoirs. Authorities stated that these 25 reservoirs are releasing floodwaters in an “orderly manner.”
In a report on the flood situation in the Songhua River by China News Network, there was no mention of the Fengman reservoir or other reservoirs releasing floodwaters. Instead, it vaguely mentioned that “currently, residents in key areas affected by flooding in Jilin province have been evacuated, and efforts are being made to expedite drainage and dredging work.”
Authorities have been actively censoring information on social media. Local residents who questioned why their families did not receive evacuation notices had their accounts swiftly cleared. Some residents revealed that after posting videos of the flooding in front of their homes online, they immediately received calls from the local police station and neighborhood committee requesting the videos be deleted.
According to local residents, due to the flood releases from the Fengman reservoir, the water level of the Songhua River in the urban section of Songyuan city has been steadily rising in recent days. The Jiangxin Island and Jiangbin Park have been submerged by the river water, with water depths exceeding one meter at the Narenhan Park.
Information disclosed by residents online shows that a tourist island between China and North Korea was also submersed by floodwaters, with water depths reaching around 1.5 to 2.0 meters. Wusong Island, known for its spectacular rime scenery, is a small island in the Songhua River where all facilities have been inundated, leaving nothing visible above the water.
Local residents further disclosed that the most severely affected areas in Jilin province are Linjiang City and Badagou Town in Changbai County, where houses along the riverbanks have been completely submerged. Many houses in Taihu Town in Linjiang City have been submerged up to their roofs, with only the advertisements of the shops remaining visible. The roads in Linjiang City and Badagou Town have been severely damaged, with underground pipelines washed onto the roads, leaving most of the area still submerged in water.
In a video shot by a local on August 6th at the Fengman reservoir, he remarked, “The high water level in the Songhua River is not due to rainfall but because of the reservoir in Jilin releasing water for a week.”
Despite officials claiming that the flood peak in Songyuan occurred on August 6th, local residents revealed online that a few hours after the Fengman reservoir’s flood release, flooding started in low-lying areas like Badagou Town in Songyuan.
Residents voiced their dissatisfaction in the comments section below the official news of the Fengman reservoir halting the flood release, expressing statements such as, “The houses on both sides downstream have collapsed, fields are in ruins, it’s a disaster,” “It’s too late, what’s the use?” “Whether to release or not, everything is flooded, is stopping it useful? The water has already soaked everything,” “Now that it’s stopped, the remaining water is enough to fill a pot.”
The flood disaster caused by the Fengman reservoir’s release has a widespread impact and a long duration, making the functionality of reservoirs a focal point of public attention.
One resident from Jilin questioned whether if the Fengman reservoir had released floodwaters three days earlier, with half the discharge volume, would Songyuan and even Harbin have avoided the flooding? They pondered whether the reservoir’s focus is on water storage for power generation, fish farming, and irrigation rather than disaster reduction. Are profits being maximized? Releasing water in advance costs money, and once too much is released, the funds are depleted.
A resident of Songyuan cynically remarked, “Reservoirs are meant for drought resistance, but now they have become the culprits of flooding. Times have changed, and the purpose has shifted, water is not behaving properly.”
Others pointed out that reservoirs are currently being used for water storage during droughts and flood releases during periods of heavy rain. They questioned, “Where has all the money allocated by the state for water management gone every year?”
A list of responsible personnel for reservoirs from the Jilin Provincial Water Resources Department shows that there are nearly 1300 large, medium, and small reservoirs in Jilin province, with 97 at the municipal level of Jilin City.
Renowned water expert Wang Weiluo previously told Dajiyuan that China now has nearly 100,000 reservoirs, with roughly three-quarters of them considered unsafe. “Their lifespan has already exceeded, but they are not dismantled. Each year, a large amount of funding is applied for, just to repair these so-called sick and dangerous reservoirs, with an annual investment of a trillion yuan, but it has been ineffective. Someone has calculated that with a slight increase in funds, China could achieve universal health insurance. Although the number of poor-quality reservoirs may have decreased this year, overall, their quantity is still increasing, and the risk is escalating.”
Releasing water during the flood season has become a common method to prevent reservoir dam failures, but it has also become a significant factor in causing flooding. Villagers in Gu Louzi Dongdianzi Village, Liaoning Province, revealed that due to reservoir flooding, the entire village was flooded, with houses and blueberry greenhouses completely submerged, resulting in heavy losses for the residents who are now urging for attention from the public.