Water gushes out from spillways at Xin'an River Reservoir in east China's Zhejiang Province, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)
HANGZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Xin'an River Reservoir, an important flood control project in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River, has opened all nine of its spillways to lower the crest of local floods Wednesday morning.
This is the second time all the spillways have been opened since the reservoir's completion in 1959. The first time was in 1966 for a test run.
Water gushes out from spillways at Xin'an River Reservoir in east China's Zhejiang Province, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)
The Xin'an River Reservoir is more commonly known as Qiandao Lake. It is the main source of drinking water for the province of Zhejiang and serves as a strategic reservoir for the Yangtze River Delta. The Qiantang River is the largest river in Zhejiang and is known for having the world's largest tidal bore.
Zhejiang has been ravaged by waves of concentrated rainfall for over a month, with the accumulated precipitation of the Xin'an River area reaching 924.37 mm, 131.7 percent more than the previous average during the same period as of 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Water gushes out from spillways at Xin'an River Reservoir in east China's Zhejiang Province, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)
The reservoir opened three spillways Tuesday morning and two more at noon. At about 4 p.m., seven spillways had been opened.
However, due to heavy downpours and floods upstream in Anhui Province, the water level in the reservoir continued to grow despite the efforts. The local water conservancy bureau therefore decided to open all nine of the spillways to discharge the floodwater Wednesday morning.
Water gushes out from spillways at Xin'an River Reservoir in east China's Zhejiang Province, July 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)
With all spillways open, the reservoir can discharge water at a rate of 7,800 cubic meters per second with the hydropower station running at full capacity.
Local authorities said all residents in the lower reaches area have been evacuated before the opening. ■
