The reporter learned from the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Committee of the Ministry of Water Resources that on April 8, the Yangtze River Commission dispatched the Three Gorges Reservoir to implement the spring irrigation and water replenishment dispatch. During the dry season after the flood season in 2024 (December to April 9 last year), the reservoir group in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has replenished 31.3 billion cubic meters of water to the middle and lower reaches.

In the dry season of 2024, the precipitation in the Yangtze River basin was relatively low, of which nearly 30%, of which nearly 40% of the precipitation in the middle and lower reaches were relatively low; the natural influential water in the basin was relatively low, of which 10% of the natural influential water in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River were relatively low. The Yangtze River Commission coordinates the water use needs of all parties, rolls the plan for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River reservoir group depletion and depletion month by month, and issues dispatch opinions to steadily promote the dispatch of reservoir group depletion and depletion and ensures the safety of water use in the basin such as water supply, power generation, shipping, and ecology.

As of April 9, the control reservoir group in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River played a coordinated role in water replenishing, with a total of about 31.3 billion cubic meters of water replenishing, including 8 billion cubic meters of cascaded water replenishing in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, 9.6 billion cubic meters of cascaded water replenishing in the Yalong River, 3.5 billion cubic meters of cascaded water replenishing in the Minjiang River (Dadu River), 2.5 billion cubic meters of cascaded water replenishing in the Jialing River, 6.4 billion cubic meters of water replenishing in the Three Gorges Reservoir, and 1.3 billion cubic meters of water replenishing in the Wujiang River and other other cascaded water replenishing in the middle and lower reaches, increasing the average flow of the middle and lower reaches by about 2,800 cubic meters per second, and raising the water level of the Shashi-Hukou River section by 2.5-0.8 meters.

In the driest mid-January to early February, the natural incoming water in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was only about 3,800 cubic meters per second, and the average daily outflow of the Three Gorges Reservoir was 7,500-8,000 cubic meters per second, increasing the average middle and lower reaches by nearly 4,000 cubic meters per second, raising the water level of the Shashi-Hukou River section by 4.0-1.0 meters, greatly improving the water intake conditions of river-draining projects such as river diversion and Han River, ensuring the water supply safety of important cities along the river and the lower reaches of the Han River during important periods of dry water, and ensuring the deep water conditions and smooth shipping of the waterways in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

On April 9, the water storage capacity of the controlled reservoir group in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was 30.3 billion cubic meters above the same period last year, nearly 5 billion cubic meters more than the same period last year. In addition, the rainfall in the basin will gradually increase after the flood season in April, and water demand for water supply, irrigation, shipping, power generation, etc. before the flood season is reliable.

(Reporter Ni Jingyi and Ling Shu of the General Station)