Breakthrough for West Liaohe River

In a historic breakthrough, the main stream of the West Liaohe River witnessed uninterrupted flow along its entire length for the first time in almost three decades, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

This remarkable achievement happened as a spring water supplementation program, which was launched on March 4, continued in the watercourse, eventually extending its water-filled sections to the mouth of its tributary Jiaolai River at 10 am on Thursday, the ministry noted.

A major part of Liaohe River, one of the seven largest in the country, the West Liaohe has been in a state of interruption since the conclusion of its flood season in 1998, making it the only major watercourse in the country facing such a situation.

In a news conference on Friday, Chen Min, vice-minister of water resources, said that the West Liaohe's decades-long struggle with severe ecological challenges happened due to precipitation decline and surging water demand amid socioeconomic development.

At the same time, the West Liaohe has also seen many wetlands in its basin significantly shrink, he said.

To address the problem, Chen said that the ministry, together with government of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has been strengthening water resources management in the basin since 2020.

One primary focus of the endeavor involves bolstering enforcement measures against illegal encroachment into rivers and lakes, he said. The criteria for project approval have also been concurrently elevated, which guarantees that all projects are initiated in alignment with the sustainable utilization of water resources within a stringent total consumption limit.

Water conservation and treatment of over-exploitation of ground water are also key concerns in the joint efforts, he added.

As a result of these measures, "the water table in the over-exploited groundwater area has halted its descent and begun to ascend. The restoration of the local ecological environment has been truly remarkable," Chen said.

In areas where the water flow has resumed, the varieties of bird species and their numbers have significantly increased, said the vice-minister, who has just come back from a field visit to the West Liaohe.

He pledged consistent efforts from the ministry to rejuvenate ecologically damaged water bodies across the country.

In 2022, the ministry launched a mother river revitalization initiative to remediate 88 water bodies with disrupted water flows and shrinking water surfaces, according to Chen.

With tailored protection and restoration plans drafted for each of the water bodies, a series of measures for water conservation, the optimization of water resources distribution and water replenishment have been rolled out, he added.

"We will work consistently to drive fundamental improvements in the appearance of rivers and lakes across the country," he said.