Navigation on the Yangtze, the longest river in China, could come to a halt due to continuous low water level on the upper reaches over the past 40 days, a hydrological department has warned.

Experts with the Chongqing hydrology department said that the water level on the upper reaches of the Yangtze has been below the zero mark from January 31.

Between January 29 and February 5, the water level at the Cuntan monitoring station dropped by 1.02 meters,the most drastic fall in the history of the upper reaches' hydrological records. By March 1, that level had dropped to minus 0.60 meter, the lowest mark since 1987.

Currently, the water level of the upper reaches of the Yangtze still lingers around the zero mark, according to the hydrology department.

Yang Zuoming, a senior engineer and director of the Chongqing Meteorological Station, said the low water level was caused by less rainfall in the area along the upper reaches of the Yangtze over the past months, and the fact that reservoirs in areas along the upper reaches of the river store a lot of the water for generating electricity.

Yang said rainfall in the Chongqing area dropped by 30 percent to 60 percent since last August compared with the same period in normal years.

The low water level has made navigation on the river more difficult.

An official with the Chongqing Municipal Maritime Affairs Bureau said currently the depth of water in some sections is only 2.7 meters and the width of the river course that allows passage of ships is only 60 meters.

The minimum depth of navigable water should be more than 2.8 meters, or else accidents like ships hitting rocks or running aground are very likely to occur, the official said.

Four accidents in which ships ran aground were reported at the Chongqing section of the Yangtze from February 27to March 4. These accidents were handled in a timely and proper manner, bringing no adverse effects on the navigation in the river.

Sources with the Chongqing Yangtze Navigation and Ships Company said that the low water level cut its daily handling of passengers and cargo by 20 percent, causing an economic loss of more than 5 million yuan (US$602,000).

Due to the water shortage, Chongqing now faces the challenges of generating electricity itself or buying electric power from other provinces of China, the local power supply department warned.

However, the low water level is helping Chinese archaeologists, working in the Three Gorges reservoir area, who are trying to save relics from being flooded.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2003)