(March 9, 2009) The water level at the Three Gorges Dam has been lowered by about nine meters this year as the hydroelectric project is discharging more water to ensure navigation and water use for cities downstream.

The water level behind the dam was 163 m Sunday, compared with the level of 172.8 meters in early November, said the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

Water entered the Three Gorges Reservoir at 4,500 cubic meters per second and flew out of it at 5,800 cubic meters per second on Sunday.

Since November, upstream water flowing into the reservoir was less than 5,000 cubic meters per second most of the time and the project has been keeping water sluiced at 5,000 cubic meters per second to supplement water for middle and lower reaches.

Among the project’s 26 turbine generators in use, only nine ran on Sunday with the others under maintenance. The project will continue to supplement water for downstream use until April, according to an engineer of the station.

The Three Gorges Project, with a budget equivalent to 22.5 billion U.S. dollars, is a multi-functional water control system built at the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the country’s longest.

Its main works are a dam, a five-tier ship lock and 26 hydropower turbo-generators.

Xinhua News Agency, March 9, 2009