The Three Gorges Reservoir started 175-meter water storage on September 10, as per the 2023 Three Gorges Reservoir Water Storage Plan officially approved by the Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China .

　　The 175-meter level is the normal storage level designed for the Three Gorges Project. The reservoir stores water at the end of each flood season and gradually releases and vacates its capacity between the dry season and the subsequent flood season. This strategy, known as “storing abundant water for the dry season”, ensures navigation, water supply, and power generation and meet ecological and other demands in the Yangtze River Basin for the time between winter and the spring of the following year. As of December 2022, the Three Gorges Project has replenished the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River with over 330 billion cubic meters of water.

　　The China Three Gorges Corporation has stated that they will adhere to the Plan and optimize the water storage process based on real-time rolling forecasts of water inflow to ensure that the Three Gorges Reservoir reaches the normal water storage level of 175 meters. Additionally, they will enhance the safety monitoring and geological inspections along the reservoir shores during the storing process. The objective is to accomplish this year’s water storage task while ensuring the safety of the project and the reservoir shores, and flood control in the upstream and downstream areas.

　　The 2023 joint water storage plan for the cascade reservoirs downstream of the Jinshajiang River had been approved by the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources on September 4. So far, all the water storage plans for the cascade reservoirs along the main stream of the Yangtze River under the jurisdiction of the Three Gorges Corporation have been officially approved.

　　According to hydro-meteorological forecasts, a strong rainfall, mainly moderate rain to heavy rain, will move from the west to the east in the Yangtze River Basin from September 10 to 15 and some places will experience a rainstorm. (Reporters/Li Siyuan & Tian Zhongquan)