Yangtze River's No. 3flood passes Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam has been used to control the flow of water from the Yangtze River's third flood of the year, with the Three Gorges reservoir effectively retaining 36.7 percent of the peak floodwater on July 27, mitigating the flood's impact on the lower reaches.The third flood arrived at the dam at 2 p.m. on July 26, with a water-inflow rate of 50,000 cubic meters per second due to heavy rainfall in the upper reaches of the river, said the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).

The inflow reached a peak of 60,000 cubic meters per second at 2 p.m. on July 27, but much of this additional flood water was contained due to precautionary measures taken in advance.

Water was discharged through the dam on nine occasions since July 18 to ensure enough storage capacity in the reservoir for flood control. The water level of the reservoir dropped to 158.56 meters at noon on Saturday, with a reserved flood-control capacity of 14.11 billion cubic meters before the arrival of the third flood.

Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the waters of many rivers in the affected regions have exceeded warning levels.

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.