Stopping the Yellow River from running dry this year will be a
major task for water resource authorities, after experts warned
that far less water will flow into the river in the first half of
this year.
According to experts' predictions, the water flow into the river's
mainstream in the first seven months of this year will be much less
compared with previous years, and probably the lowest since
1950.
It
is estimated that the water flow will be 5.5 billion square meters
less than 1997, when the river experienced its most serious
drought.
The Yellow River Conservancy Commission, based in Zhengzhou in
Central China's Henan Province, managed to successfully balance
demand and supply by allocating the limited water resources last
year, but it may face its toughest job yet this year, said
commission officials.
The Yellow River is called the "mother river'' because it is the
major water resource for northwestern and northern China.
The river used to be a major source of flooding. However, since
1980, consecutive years of drought and increasing demand for water
from regions along the river has resulted in a huge reduction of
surface flow for lengthy periods almost every year.
Shandong
Province in East China is one of the victims that suffer the
most. Figures indicate that the province now lacks 8.1 billion
square meters of water, while it only has reserves totaling 3.4
billion square meters.
Meanwhile, the country's northwestern region, which the river runs
through, continues to suffer from water shortages.
The water problem is becoming more acute because economic
development has heavily increased water demand.
During the past decade, many regions in the upper and middle
sections of the river, including Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui
autonomous regions and Henan Province, have invested huge sum of
money into projects introducing Yellow River water into local
regions for agricultural irrigation and other purposes.
A
failure to cut down on water consumption is another reason.
In
Shandong Province, only three cities -- Qingdao, Weihai and Yantai
-- have been equipped with water conservancy facilities.
So
far, the downstreams of the Yellow River still run into the ocean,
thanks to the allocation of water resources.
In
the coming days, the river will face the problem of melting ice as
temperatures increase. According to a China News Service report,
part of the river running through the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
has seen melting ice and a river course several meters wide.
(China Daily February 11, 2003)