The Three Gorges Dam has been used to control the flow of water from the Yangtze River's third flood of the year, with the Three Gorges reservoir effectively retaining 36.7 percent of the peak floodwater on Monday, mitigating the flood's impact on the lower reaches, the dam's managing authority said.
The third flood arrived at the dam at 2 p.m. Sunday, with a water-inflow rate of 50,000 cubic meters per second due to heavy rainfall in the upper reaches of the river, said the China Three Gorges Corporation.
The inflow reached a peak of 60,000 cubic meters per second at 2 p.m. Monday, but much of this additional flood water was contained due to precautionary measures taken in advance.
Water was discharged through the dam on nine occasions since July 18 to ensure enough storage capacity in the reservoir for flood control. The water level of the reservoir dropped to 158.56 meters at noon on Saturday, with a reserved flood-control capacity of 14.11 billion cubic meters before the arrival of the third flood.
