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Steady Stream Returns to China's Second Longest River
China's second largest river, Yellow River, has seen steady flow of water this year thanks to concerted efforts of both central and local governments.
The river originates from Qinghai Province in west China, and flows into the Bohai Sea from Shandong Province in east China. Over the past decade, the Yellow River has suffered from chronic dry-ups.
"Although the river experienced the second lowest water this year since 1949, its stream remains uninterrupted," said Wang Jianzhong, deputy director of the Water Regulatory Bureau under the Yellow River Water Resources Committee.
Statistics show that the river's runoff was 13.2 billion cubic meter this year. Shandong Province alone used 5.2 billion cubic meter water and diverted 0.7 billion cubic meter water to supply Tianjin Municipality and neighboring Hebei Province, which suffer water shortage.
The resumption of steady water flow has contributed to improvement of the ecosystem in and around the Yellow River. Some extinct fish species reappeared in the waterway.
From 1970s on, dry-up occurred from time to time at the lower reaches of the river. The first dry-up took place in 1972, and a more frequent rate had been seen in the 1990s. In 1997 alone 226 consecutive days of dry-up were reported.
The central and local governments intensified efforts to relieve the water shortage of the river. A number of regulations were enacted to regulate water use in provinces along the river, while water-saving programs were launched.
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