"Leading the river into the sea" Yunnan Chenghai is full of vitality

A steady stream of river water flows into the Cheng Sea. Photo by Liu Yipeng, a reporter from China Youth Network

Lijiang, China Youth Network, November 21 (Reporter Liu Yipeng) 90 kilometers away from Lijiang Dam, Yongsheng County, Northwest Yunnan, has one of the nine plateau lakes in Yunnan Province, Cheng Hai, also known as Heiwu Sea, the altitude is only 1600m, because of the low-lying terrain, here is always hotter than Lijiang Dam for a season.

With a total area of 77.2 square kilometers, Cheng Hai is a rare alkaline water lake in the world and one of the three lakes in the world where spirulina grows naturally. It is a tiny plant floating on the surface that cannot be accurately identified by the naked eye, and under the microscope, it looks like a coiled spring. Due to the abundant spirulina resources, Cheng Hai is always glowing green all year round.

In recent years, due to the large amount of evaporation in the river basin and the increasing use of agricultural water along the lake, the sea level and water quality of the cheng sea have shown a significant downward trend. The water level in October this year was 1495.59 meters, which was 3.61 meters lower than the statutory minimum control water level of 1499.2 meters in the Regulations on the Protection of Chenghai in Yunnan Province, and nearly 405 million cubic meters less than the maximum operating water storage capacity of 1.98 billion cubic meters. Li Hongjun, deputy director of the Chenghai Administration, said that if measures are not taken to develop according to the data monitored over the years, the level of the Chenghai Sea will drop at a rate of 47-60 centimeters per year, and it may eventually disappear.

Therefore, Yongsheng County has strongly promoted the nine special actions of "Cheng Hai water replenishment, five retreats and four returns, industrial structure adjustment, mountain restoration, sewage and garbage collection and treatment, red line piling, river chief system implementation, publicity and mobilization of the masses to protect Cheng Hai, supervision, monitoring and management capabilities to improve" nine special actions, and implement rescue protection for Cheng Hai.

Among them, the Chenghai River Basin ecological comprehensive treatment water conservancy backbone emergency water replenishment project is undoubtedly the protagonist. The water source of the Chenghai Emergency Water Replenishment Project is the Ludila Power Station Reservoir, and the water intake point is located on the left bank of the Jinsha River 560 meters upstream of the outlet of the Tu'er Zhen River, through multi-level water lifting and water transmission, and finally replenishing water into Chenghai.

On September 24, the water of the Jinsha River gushed out under the stone monument of "Jinsha Lishui" at the mouth of Chenghai, marking a new starting point for the comprehensive ecological management of the Chenghai River Basin and realizing the historic transformation of "returning water to the lake".

It is reported that the finishing project will be completed before December 30 this year, after the completion of the Cheng Hai emergency water replenishment project, it is expected that an average of 68.166 million cubic meters of water will be introduced into Cheng Hai every year in 5 years, increasing the clean water volume of Cheng Hai into the lake, which can not only effectively curb the continuous decline of the sea level of Cheng Hai, but also improve the quality of Cheng Hai water, while meeting the irrigation needs of surrounding farmland.

Next, the Chenghai protection action will also carry out work from accelerating project construction, increasing ecological restoration efforts, improving the ability of "science and technology to govern the lake", and promoting the comprehensive treatment of Chenghai villages. Strictly control the intensity of water resources development and utilization, gradually establish and improve the long-term mechanism for operation and maintenance management after the construction of the project, realize scientific and standardized protection and governance of Chenghai, and build a beautiful Chenghai with rich masses, beautiful ecology, effective governance, civilization and harmony.

Source: China Youth Network