The total length of the Talimu River is 2400 km, the biggest continental river in China. The snow water from Tianshan Mountain, Kunlun Mountain, Aerjin Mountain, Elakunlun Mountain and the Pamier Plateau feeds millions of people of all races in the basin. Because of the influences of the climate variation and human activities, disastrous weather is frequent and the incidence of sandstorms is serious in the basin. This basin is the driest and the weakest ecological environment.

In 1999 and 2000, the coming water in the Kaidu River was richer for two years on end, and the level in Bositeng Lake was continuously higher, and exceeded greatly its normal level. In spring of 2000, according to the special situation of continuously higher water level in the Bositeng Lake and the water volume of 150 million cubic meters in Daxihaizi Reservoir, the Water Conservancy Department of Xinjiang Autonomous Region and the Talimu River Administration Bureau submitted a report to the autonomous region government and the Ministry of Water Resources, Suggestions on Lifting Water from the Bositeng Lake to Replace the High Mineralization Water in the Daxihaizi Reservoir to Save the Green Corridor of the Downstream. The report was praised and approved by the Ministry of Water Resources and the autonomous region government. They decided to take urgent and practicable measures to dispatch water to the downstream of the Talimu River.

   With the great efforts and collaboration of Bazhou City, the Second Division of Agriculture and the Talimu River Administration Bureau，the first urgent water dispatching was done and it lasted about two months from May 14 to July 12 in 2000. 208 million cubic meters of ecological water was dispatched from Bositeng Lake, and 100 million cubic meters released from the Daxihaizi Reservoir to the downstream of the Talimu River. The water head in the downstream reached 102 km below the Daxihaizi Reservoir. The first water dispatch made the ground water level in the surrounding area of 100 km below the Daxihaizi Reservoir rise. The affected width of one-side ground water was 400~500 m, the affected scope was 80~100 square km，which reduced the exhaustion velocity of the vegetation in the down stream.

   At the end of September in 2000, the high water season of the Kaidu River almost came to an end. With the influence of the coming water from the Kaidu River and after finishing the water supply for production in summer in the irrigated area of the Kongque River and the farm of Talimu, the water level of Bositeng Lake was still higher. Meanwhile, the time of low water consumption for agriculture in winter was coming. According to the situation, the Water Conservancy Department of the autonomous region and the Talimu River Administration Bureau decided to dispatch water again from Bositeng Lake to save the green corridor in the downstream of the Talimu River. The Ministry of Water Resources and the autonomous region government attached great importance to it and allocated special funds of 2 million yuan for it. The autonomous region took advantage of the continuously higher water level in Bositeng Lake. By active coordination, water was dispatched to the downstream of the Talimu River for the second time without affecting the water consumption for production in the Kongque River irrigated area and the Talimu Farm. The second dispatch was from November 3, 2000 to February 5, 2001, almost 100 days. The volume dispatched from Bositeng Lake was 473 million cubic meters, the volume released from the Daxihaizi Reservoir to the downstream of the Talimu River was 227 million cubic meters, and the water head reached 215.6 km below the Daxihaizi Reservoir. After water passed through the river channel, the ground water level of the surrounding area returned to the maximum of more than 4.5 m. The affected maximum width of one-side ground water exceeded 500 m, and the whole affected area exceeded 200 square km.

   The second dispatch not only reduced the flood pressure resulting from the high level of Bositeng Lake but also supplied enough water to save the green corridor along the downstream of the Talimu River. And it solved the problem of water shortage on the farms in the downstream area. All of these results achieved excellent benefits in terms of ecology, economy and society.

   The third urgent dispatch was from April 1 to November in 2001, and lasted almost 8 months. From the first ten days of July to the first ten days of September, the Kongque River irrigated area and the Talimu farm were requiring peak water consumption for irrigation, so the water dispatch was suspended for almost 60 days, which divided the third dispatch into two phases (the first phase from April 1 to July 6 in 2001, the second from September 12, 2001 to the second ten days of November). In the suspended time, the temperature was highest in the Talimu Basin. In the first phase a lot of the water dispatched to the river channel was evaporated, so that the goal that the released volume of 300 million cubic meters from the Daxihaizi Reservoir to downstream reached the Tema Lake, the destination, could not be realized. Therefore, before the second phase began, according to the high water season at the year and the increasing volume from the Tianhe River and the Yeerqiang River into the Talimu River, and based on the water consumption in Akesu district and the First Division of Agriculture, the Talimu River Administration Bureau coordinated with Akesu District, the First Division of Agriculture, Shaya County and Kuche County in the upstream and adjusted the irrigation plan, reduced the times of irrigation so as to dispatch maximum water to the downstream of the Talimu River. Because of these active efforts in the source area, the middle and upstream of the trunk, and the roles of the ecological project which was completed before the high water season, in the second phase, 7000 million cubic meters of water was dispatched from the Talimu River to below the Daxihaizi, which enhanced the stability of water resources. The third urgent water dispatch ended successfully in the second ten days of November, 2001. The accumulated water from Bositeng Lake was about 700 million cubic meters, the volume released from the Daxihaizi Reservoir to the downstream of the Talimu River was almost 400 million cubic meters, and the water head arrived at the lower reaches of the Talimu River---the Taitema Lake.

   The successful water dispatch in this urgent situation to the downstream of the Talimu River was highly valued. Premier Zhu Rongji remarked: “This is a green action which cannot be over praised”. Wen Jiabao, vice-premier, commented: “The success of dispatching the water of the Black River, the realization of no zero-flow in the Yellow River in the seriously dry season, and water dispatch twice to the Talimu River from Bositeng Lake, supplied valuable experience for the unified water dispatching and scientific management of water resources”.

    Water dispatch is a measure only to be used in urgent situation for comprehensive harnessing of the Talimu River. The reason why these water dispatches had water sources and water volume was the continuously rich year in terms of the coming water from the Kaidu River. Dispatch water to the green corridor in the downstream of the Talimu River is a chronic work, and a part of the comprehensive harnessing and planning. It is a very difficult and complicated systematical engineering which requires unified dispatching and management. In accordance with The Report of the Short-range Programming and Harnessing of the Talimu River Basin, we should implement the systematic harnessing of the Talimu River Basin with great efforts, make a plan of unified dispatching of water resources, establish and perfect a new mechanism for the basin administration, fully depend on the legal and economic means and science and technology to realize the unified management of water resources of the Talimu River Basin as early as possible and to restore the ecological system of the downstream thoroughly.

Source:  www.yellowriver.gov.cn   Editor:HuangFeng