People living at the mouth of the Yangtze River need not fear that silting will threaten development in the rich delta region - an official report shows that the river is producing much less silt than before.

 

The Yangtze River Silt Report, released by the Yangtze River Hydrological Bureau on Sunday, says water in seven sections of the river is 32-78 percent less sandy than the average for the past five years.

 

The statistics are based on data collected by the bureau's seven major hydrological monitoring stations scattered along the river.

 

Bureau chief Professor Wang Jun explained that the silt reduction was due to sediment being retained by reservoirs built along the river and also to success in treating soil erosion.

 

The Three Gorges Reservoir, the world's biggest hydropower project, last year retained 151 million tons of silt from the Yangtze's upper reaches, or 59 percent of water sand.

 

Soil erosion treatment efforts - now in their 18th year - were completed in 2005 for 3,618.55 square km of the country's longest waterway.

 

At a cost of 2 billion yuan (US$250 million), the soil erosion treatment efforts - covering an area of 100,000 square km - have reduced the amount of soil washed away by the river each year by about 200 million tons. 40 percent of the soil erosion in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze has now been dealt with effectively, said the report.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)