The water level of Poyang Lake, China's largest fresh water
lake, has dropped sharply as it continues to supply water to the
Yangtze River's middle reaches which are at their lowest level in
more than a century.
The water level at the lake's Xingzi Hydro Station has fallen
3.25 meters since Aug. 9th, said Cao Mei, an expert with the Poyang
Lake Hydrologic Bureau.
Water depth at the station is now 11.25 meters, breaking its
previous low-level water mark for this time of year of 11.87
meters, which was set in 1971, he said.
The 330,000-hectare lake receives water from five rivers in east
China's Jiangxi Province and supplies water to the Yangtze River.
In late July 7,000 cubic meters per second were flowing into the
Yangtze River but that has been reduced to 4,600 cubic meters per
second.
Navigation on the lake has not been affected, Cao is worried
that might occur if the water level continues to fall.
With drought conditions and high temperatures prevailing since
July, the water level in the Jiangxi Province section of the
Yangtze River fell to 11.81 meters on Wednesday, breaking the
previous low of 12.01 meters at the same time of year set in
1972.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2006)
