Sigh of relief as danger lake drops

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-12  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE water level of the Tangjiashan quake lake in the southwest Sichuan Province kept dropping yesterday, while experts warned that dangers remain.

The level dropped to 713.79 meters above sea level at 8pm yesterday from Tuesday's highest mark of 743.1 meters, and about two-thirds of the quake's 250-million-cubic-meter volume has been discharged, according to the quake-lake relief headquarters in Mianyang.

The headquarters, believing the lake's outflow was unlikely to cause flooding for downstream areas, called off an alert at 4pm yesterday, a day after Sichuan's Communist Party chief Liu Qibao declared "a decisive victory" in the drainage efforts.

Major test

Water Resources Minister Chen Lei said people who had been relocated because of the lake could now return home.

However, he warned earlier that the lake might still pose dangers. "There are still some 86 million cubic meters in the lake, which is subject to the threat of aftershocks, landslides, heavy rain," he said.

"Another major test for us is coming as the flood season approaches. The best situation is to completely clear the water from the Tangjiashan lake before the flood season."

He said experts with the ministry would fly to the lake area to conduct geological studies and assess the risks.

The Tangjiashan lake was formed after quake-triggered landslides from Tangjiashan Mountain blocked the Tongkou River running through Beichuan County, one of the worst-hit areas in the quake. It began to drain on Saturday morning through a man-made spillway.

The drained water flooded the quake-ravaged Beichuan County, then safely passed Mianyang on the Fujiang River on Tuesday, and arrived at Tongnan County, in Chongqing Municipality, at 5:30pm yesterday.

More than 2,500 people in Tongnan were relocated before the drained water arrived. But the flood was smaller than expected and only inundated some crops along the river bank.

The Mianyang government said city water networks had suspended intake from the Fujiang River since Tuesday night as the water-quality monitoring center found the water was contaminated by the lake outflow.

"The muddy outflow is accompanied with lots of flotsam. Reports from five monitoring stations on the Fujiang River shows the river has been polluted and is not potable," said an official with the center, adding the water quality is expected to return to normal in two weeks.

The water supply for more than 500,000 people in Mianyang urban areas now comes from underground reserves before the river water quality improves, and the government will ensure 50 liters of drinking water per person per day.

Chongqing has kept a close eye on the water quality and issued monitoring reports every two hours.