Environment     

Three Gorges Dam sees second annual flood peak

Xinhua, July 13, 2012

• The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project, handled Thursday its second flood peak of the year, the dam's managing authority said.

  Flood water pours out of sluices of the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, July 12, 2012. Flood water passed the Three Gorges Dam on Thursday with a flow rate of 55,000 cubic meters per second. The second flood peak of this year is estimated to arrive at the Three Gorges on Thursday night. [Xinhua]

  The flood peak arrived with a flow rate of 56,000 cubic meters of water per second, about the same level as the first peak on Saturday, the coordination division of the China Three Gorges Corporation said.

  Data from the division's monitoring equipment showed that the dam's construction units, power units and other facilities were all working properly.

  The Three Gorges Dam started working at full capacity on July 4, with the last of its 32 turbine generators going into operation.

  The dam withstood three major floods last summer, taking the edge off the fierce flows by holding back the majority of the floodwaters in its reservoir to ease the floods' impact on the Yangtze River's lower reaches.

  The dam reservoir releases water in dry seasons to ease droughts, particularly in downstream rice-growing areas.

   

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