Keeping the 'Mother River' on course for another century
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The drying up of the river was first reported in 1972 and in 21 of the following 26 years until 1998 as a result of both insufficient rainfall and depletive water use, says Wang.
In 1997, a 704-km section of the river in the eastern Shandong Province ran dry for 226 days, leading to the loss of more than 133,000 hectares of crops and costing the economy about 13.5 billion yuan (1.98 billion U.S. dollars).
Although no drying up in the lower Yellow River has been recorded since 1999, Schwede, vice secretary general of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, warns China still faces a tough challenge to keep the river "functional in all times."
Cautious Optimism
Since 2002, Li Guoying and his YRCC team have been attempting to flush out sediment in the lower reaches by opening up reservoirs.
From 2002 to 2004, the YRCC successfully created peak flows by controlling releases from the Wanjiazhai, Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi reservoirs. Since 2005, this method has also been used for power generation.
The efforts began to pay off as the downstream riverbed has been lowered by an average of 1.5 meters.
The water flow has increased to 3,880 cubic meters per second from 1,800 cubic meters in 2002, Li says. "The lower Yellow River can better manage floods and sediment."
Restrictions on water consumption are also key to keeping the "Mother River" flowing, said An Xindai, Li's colleague.
The State Council authorized the YRCC in 1998 to take charge the allocation of the Yellow River water to the nine provinces and autonomous regions through which it flows, ending decades of competition for water.
The ration for each province and autonomous region is based on their population, economic structure and water demand, Li explains.
In the past 11 years, the major water consumers, Shandong Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, have cut their annual consumption from the river by 1.6 billion and 330 million cubic meters respectively.
Water consumption measured by per 10,000 yuan of gross domestic product (GDP) in the nine provinces and autonomous regions dropped from 1,672 cubic meters in 1990 to 308 cubic meters in 2006.
Li Guoying is cautious optimistic about protecting the existing waterway, but public education is urgently required.
"A river is alive and those who multiply on the riverside should act virtuously by securing the water demand of the river first."
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