Water Controls Keep Yellow River FlowingAlthough the water-shed of North China's Yellow River has suffered a severe drought this year, the river is still flowing in Shandong on the lower reaches.The Yellow River has not dried out thanks to the rational controls that the State has imposed on its water resources, "China Daily" quoted sources from the Shandong Provincial Yellow River Resources Committee as saying. These controls have ensured that water usage on the river's lower reaches has been reduced to a minimum. This year Shandong has experienced its worst drought since 1916. The province's rainfall in March and April was 84 percent less than the same period of previous years. Nevertheless, those sections that flow through Shandong's Heze, Jinan, Dezhou, Binzhou and Dongying have not dried up. This is the first time China has succeeded with a big river water management project. The whole of the Yellow River is now under a unified management, the Yellow River Control Bureau, which is a significant step in the reduction of water loss. Wang Jianzhong, head of the bureau, said the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions as well as Henan and Shandong provinces along the river have carried out plans to conserve water for use. During the first half of this year, the bureau issued more than 60 orders concerning water management. The head waters of the Yellow River are in Qinghai Province, and the river flows through Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, passing finally through Shandong before it flows into the Bohai Sea. |
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