Guangdong Fine Dispatching Dongjiang Three Reservoirs to Ensure the Safety of Water Supply to Hong Kong
Xinhua News Agency, Guangzhou, August 11th (Reporter Li Xiongying) Affected by extreme weather, some areas in Guangdong suffered from drought in the first half of this year, with a rare "drought in the north and drought in the south". Guangdong Water Conservancy Department scientifically dispatches three major reservoirs and other water storage facilities in the basin, finely controls the flow of Dongjiang River, effectively ensures the water supply safety of nearly 50 million people in Dongjiang water receiving area, especially for Hong Kong, and fully implements the newly signed water supply agreement between Guangdong and Hong Kong.
According to the Guangdong Provincial Water Resources Department, since last autumn, the Dongjiang River Basin has suffered from drought in autumn, winter, spring and summer, and the minimum total inflow of Xinfengjiang, Fengshuba and Baipenzhu reservoirs in the basin has been 63 cubic meters/second. From January to July, 2021, the rainfall in the basin was 691.1 mm, which was the least recorded in the same period since 1963, and it was also the biggest drought in Dongjiang basin since the completion of Dongshen Water Supply Project.
In the face of severe drought and severe water supply situation in Dongjiang River Basin, Guangdong has made scientific dispatch by carefully dispatching the three major reservoirs in Dongjiang River Basin, dynamically adjusting Dongjiang flow control targets, sending special personnel to supervise and implement dispatching instructions on site, and optimizing the operation mode of water conservancy projects. According to statistics, in the first half of this year, the Dongshen Water Supply Project supplied 470 million cubic meters of water to Hong Kong, a significant increase over the same period last year, effectively meeting the production and domestic water demand of Hong Kong compatriots.
According to the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province, in order to ensure the safety of water supply to Hong Kong, the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong signed a new water supply agreement at the end of 2020, which provided an effective basis and guarantee for water supply safety and implemented a dynamic water supply regulation mechanism for water supply to Hong Kong. At the same time, in order to alleviate Hong Kong’s difficulties in coping with the epidemic, Guangdong agreed to the special arrangement of collecting water charges receivable in 2021 according to the 2020 water charges standard.
With the recent increase of rain brought by typhoon, the recharge capacity of the three major reservoirs in Dongjiang River basin began to increase, and the drought that lasted for nearly one year was slightly alleviated. After full implementation of fine dispatching, it survived the most difficult period for the time being. At present, the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province is guiding and organizing Dongjiang Bureau to take measures, seize the opportunity to gradually recharge the water volume of the three major reservoirs of Dongjiang, cope with the possible drought in the future, and make every effort to ensure the safety of water supply in the basin.