Water Level of Songhuajiang River Drops to Record Low

Water level of Songhuajiang River reached a record low of 111.26 meters on the section of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Friday morning.

According to the local water resources reconnaissance bureau, high temperature and scarce rainfall in the upper reaches of the river have resulted in the sharp drop of the water level.

The pressure on water supply of the city arising therefrom has forced the local government to take steps to explore new water sources and strictly control the use of water.

The city government has called on all the residents to save on the use of water, and the car washes throughout the city will be closed. Units and individuals, if found wasting water, will be severely punished.

Since the water level is one meter below the navigation line, a dozen of sailing lines have been suspended and several hundred ships stranded near the river banks.

Experts predict the water level of Songhuajiang will continue to fall if there is no large amount of rainfall in the area in the near future.

The Songhuajiang River, with a total length of over 900 kilometers, stands next only to the Yangtze River in terms of utilized navigation capability.






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