Three Gorges reservoir receives record water flow

Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2020 shows water gushing out from the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei Province. The inflow of water at the Three Gorges reservoir reached 72,000 cubic meters per second at Wednesday noon. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

WUHAN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Three Gorges Reservoir in central China's Hubei Province is undergoing the test of a record high inbound water flow on Wednesday since the reservoir was constructed in 2003.

According to the Ministry of Water Resources, the inbound flow started to reach 72,000 cubic meters per second from noon on Wednesday, as continuous heavy rainfall still dominated the Yangtze river's upstream tributaries.

The inflow of the reservoir is forecast to further rise to 75,000 cubic meters per second on Thursday.

The ministry on Tuesday raised the river's emergency response for floods from Level III to Level II. It has ordered several reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze river, including Ertan and Xiangjiaba, to help reduce the flow of the flood into the Three Gorges Reservoir.

The Three Gorges project is a multi-functional water-control system, consisting of a 2,309-meter-long and 185-meter-high dam, a five-tier ship lock on the north and south, and 34 turbo-generators with a combined generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts.