The Prospects of Flood Control Measures on the Lower Yellow River

Abstract

Since the beginning of 1950s the flood control work on the Lower Yellow River has undergone several stages. It began with the reinforcement of dikes and construction of Dongping Lake and Shitouzhuang (later reconstructed and renamed Beijindi) flood-detention basins, and successfully handled the large flood of 22,000 cms at Huayuankou in 1958. The Sanmenxia reservoir was built in the late 1950s. It had played an important role in flood protection for the downstream reaches, but excessive sedimentation of the reservoir had caused serious problems upstream, especially silting up of river bed in the lower reach of the Wei River. Reconstruction of the project and a change of reservoir operating rules had to be taken accordingly. In recent years, valuable experience regarding sediment regulation of the Sanmenxia reservoir with the aim of reducing sediment deposition in the downstream channel has occurred. Significant changes in the area of the Yellow River have also taken place due to regulation and control measures occurring in the upper and middle reaches. We must closely follow the new trends and determine the corresponding measures to be taken in the future.KeywordsMiddle ReachSediment DischargeLarge FloodLower YellowDownstream ChannelThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.