Sustaining Healthy Life of Yellow River through Flood Utilization

The problems of the Yellow River are fundamentally due to its characteristics of less water but much sediment, imbalance of water and sediment, and concentration of limited water during flood seasons. There exists channel sedimentation and waste of floodwater resources due to sediment transporting capacity of floodwater not being fully utilized. So, utilizing limited water (especially, floodwater resources) is the key to solve the problems of the river. "Sustaining the healthy life of the Yellow River" is a new concept and objective of river control, and "no dyke breach, no dry river, no over standard water pollution and no increased sedimentation in the riverbed" are four symbols. They interact and supplement each other. First, measures can be taken to regulate stored excessive water synthetically to deal with water shortage and no - flow during non - flood seasons, such as raising limited water level of reservoirs during flood seasons, controlling limited water level during flood seasons dynamically, or "impounding floodwater" in storage and detention basins in the mid - and down stream areas. Second, surplus water obtained from discharging water before flood seasons and runoff during flood seasons can be utilized to regulate water and sediment, which can mitigate sedimentation in riverbeds of the downstream and broaden conveyance capacity of the channels of the downstream to prevent dykes from breaching. Third, "storing water in high - flow periods to meet demands in low - flow periods" will keep the downstream from no - flow and will promote self - purification capacity of water in the downstream to prevent water pollution. Consequently, man and flood can co - exist harmoniously, and the river will in benign ecological cycle. Before the South North Water Transfer Project via the western course come into operation, the Yellow River can get no water supply from other water bodies. Flood utilization will act to "increase income and decrease expenditure". Measures should be taken to utilize floodwater resources. Consequently, the healthy life of the river will be sustained.