Shanghai Daily
September 21, 2006

The Three Gorges reservoir will be raised a maximum of five metres a day so that drought-fighting efforts and water usage in downstream areas are not affected, Xinhua reports.

The second phase of raising the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir began at 10pm yesterday. One of the 13 power-producing generators was shut down, reducing electricity generation to 5.65 million kilowatts, down from the normal 6.86 million kw, according to Li Yong’an, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation. By midnight, the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir will have risen by 0.6 meters, said Li. He said that when the level reaches 156 meters in mid-October, this would be a milestone in the construction of the Three Gorges Project.