The Three Gorges Project is ready to regulate flooding this summer but 28,000 residents still need to be moved from near the reservoir before it is ready to deal with once-in-100-year floods, according to Chinese experts.

The project will help regulate once-in-20-year floods on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze starting this year, said Chen Lei, a senior engineer with the Surveys and Designs institute of the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee.

Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of China Three Gorges Project Corporation, said when a flood hits the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, the water level behind the dam will be allowed to rise which will enlarge to the reservoir.

"The homes of 28,000 residents living near the reservoir will be inundated when the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir rises to 166.5 meters and they will need to be relocated elsewhere," said Cao.

Cai Qihua, director of Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, agreed the dam's ability to regulate floods would be limited this year.

"The project can ensure the safety of major cities downstream only after it can store water up to the 175 meter mark," said Cai. To be able to store that much water some 300,000 people will have to be relocated to make room for the expanded reservoir. 
The Three Gorges Project is still under construction as not all of the sluice gates have been put into operation.

Wang Zhongfa, director of Hubei Provincial Bureau of Water Resources, said when the water level in the Three Gorges Project reservoir rises from its current 144 meters to 156 meters, it will be holding back an additional 6.8 billion cu m of water that would have otherwise flooded downstream areas.

"The extra storage capacity will enable the Three Gorges Project to retain more water when the Jingjing River downstream is struck by a flood." said Wang.

The Three Gorges Dam Project, believed to be the world's largest water control facility, isn't scheduled to become fully operational until 2008. It is designed to help minimize damage caused by floods that might occur only once every 1,000 years.

Chinese experts have repeatedly warned the risk of possible major floods on the Yangtze this summer due to factors including rapidly melting glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Deadly floods are a frequent occurrences along the Yangtze River. A flood in 1998 caused approximately 100 billion yuan (about US$13 billion) in economic loss.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2007)