Influence of the Three Gorges Reservoir Filling at 175m Scheme on Chongqing Water Transportation

Abstract

Jialing River flows into Yangtze River at main city zone of Chongqing Municipality, evolutional mechanism of rivers near the confluence site obviously shows some estuary properties. In September 2008, the Three Gorges Reservoir experimented to fill water at 175m, thus, rivers near the Chongqing Municipality are located in the upper or middle area of fluctuating backwater region and alternatively behave as reservoirs or natural rivers. On the basis of field experimental data of the reservoir impoundment process, the properties of sediment transport of some key harbors were investigated to study the waterway characters. The results show that most of the rivers took place silting. The specific results are that, at the Jiulongpo and the Jinshaqi areas, the sediment deposition grew higher 1-2m and 1-3m, respectively, and at the Zhuerqi zone, there was a few silting. The disadvantages of long-term impoundment process of the Three Gorges Reservoir on water transportation should be further explored in time.