Recently, to meet the peak demand for irrigation water for crops in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, CYPC has continued to increase the outflow of the Three Gorges Reservoir following the scheduling instructions issued by the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources (CWRC). By May 15, the daily outflow of the Three Gorges Reservoir had risen from 8,390 m3/s to approximately 12,000 m3/s.

Influenced by climate conditions, precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has been 27% lower than the long-term average this year, putting significant pressure on agricultural water security. As a key water regulation facility in the Yangtze River Basin,the Three Gorges Reservoir has maintained a minimum daily discharge of 7,000 m³/s since initiating dry-season water releases on December 1, 2024. By May 14, it had supplied cumulatively 8.4 billion cubic meters to downstream regions .

Earlier, under the guidance of CWRC, CYPC has implemented a round of water replenishment scheduling for irrigation from April 8 to April 14, increasing the daily outflow of the Three Gorges Reservoir to about 10,000 m3/s. At 8:00 am on May 15th, the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 157.7 meters--2.55 meters higher than the same period last year--providing optimal conditions for a new round of irrigation-oriented water replenishment scheduling.

Since the intial trial impoundment in 2008, the Three Gorges Reservior has cumulatively replenished over 360 billion m3 of water downstream, effectively alleviating the water demand for daily life, production, navigation, and ecosystem conservation along the river banks It has also played a vital role in water resource management across the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, becoming a "water resource bank" for impoundment and replenishment in wet and dry occasions, respectively.

Moving forward, CYPC will closely track hydrlogical and rainfall regimes, monitor real-time upstream water inflow and downstream demand, and coordinate flood control and drawdown needs according to the unified scheduling of national competent authorities, providing solid support for flood control, drought resistance, and power supply guarantee in 2025.