The 175-meter Impounded Level

Brief Introduction

The height of 175 meters is relative to the altitude of Wusongkou port, being the normal impounded level of three gorges reservoir. With an impounded level of 175 meters, the flood control of the middle and lower reaches will be ensured, power generation will be enough, and the thousand meters rivers will be with canalization.

Why to Choose the Impounded Level of 175 meters

To choose the height of 175 meters, the experts had spent more than 30 years. The higher the impounded level is, the more damages and sand sedimentation will be. But if the impounded level is too low, it can't meet the demand of power generation. The experts had a comprehensive measure of decreasing the number of immigrants, lessening the investment of the project and reducing the stress of immigration, finally, they decided to make the height of 175 meters as the target of the impounded level, to temper the relationship among the flood control, navigation and power generation.

More Efficient Flood Control

With an impounded level of 175 meters, the storage ability of three gorges project would be increased and the flood control conditions of the middle and lower reaches would be improved. Three gorges would be a reservoir with a length of more than 200 kilometers, average width of 1.1 kilometers and storage capacity of 39.3 billion square meters. It may have a flood retention of 22.15 square meters, which is equivalent to the storage of 4 Jingjiang river flood diversion areas. The flood control standard of the Jingjiang River reach will be improved, which may lessen the damage of the casualties.

More Power Generation

With an impounded level of 175 meters, it means the amount of power generation and flood control ability of three gorges power plant will be improved, being able to provide a more stable electrical energy. Only with the impounded level of 175 meters, can the 26 generator units operate in the most perfect state. In that condition, the power generation would reach 84.7 billion kilowatt, being more than 10 billion than at the level of 156 meters, which is amount to that of six and a half Gezhou Dam and 10 Dayawan Nuclear Plant, benefiting the whole nation.

More Convenient Navigation

With an impounded level of 175 meters, the channel of the upper reaches will be widened and the navigation condition would be improved. The average depth of the water is about 70 meters and the average width is about 1100 meters. The specific weight of engine of the ships would be improved from 7 to 10 tons, in keeping with that of the middle and lower reaches. The annual single through capacityof the ships would be increased to 50 million tons, which is 5 times of that of before.