Three Gorges to test water storage capacity

A view of the Three Gorges Dam in this Aug 2, 2010 file photo. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING-- China started a water capacity test on the Three Gorges reservoir Friday.

Approved by the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the test would lift the reservoir's water level from 160.2 meters to the designed maximum level of 175 meters by the end of October, a spokeswoman from the State Council's Three Gorges Project Construction Committee Executive Office told Xinhua Friday.

The 185-meter-deep reservoir is on the Yangtze River, China's longest river.

At maximum capacity, the reservoir is capable of generating up to 100 billion KWh of electricity a year.

The test this year is the third of its kind since the start of 2008. The 2008 test and the 2009 test lifted the reservoir's water level to 172.8 meters and 171.43 meters, respectively.

Cao Guangjing, president of the China Three Gorges Corporation, said he hoped the reservoir could reach full capacity during this year's test.

With the water level at 175-meters all the reservoir's functions, including flood control and electricity generation, could be brought into full play.