YRCC wins this year's Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize

Regulation of water and sediment flow

Yellow River Delta

On March 3^rd, defeated 50 other nominees, Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) wins this year's Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.

The Prize recognizes outstanding contributions towards solving global water problems by either applying technologies or implementing policies and programs which benefit humanity.

The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize Council recognised YRCC s remarkable progress in overcoming natural and man-made challenges through innovative and sustainable policies and solutions that have enabled the Yellow River to flow unabatedly over the last 10 years. YRCC s integrated water allocation programme balances water availability with social, economic and ecological developments. The improved, reliable supply of water brought about by YRCC s efforts have benefitted and enhanced the quality of life for over one hundred million people both in the basin and in regions served by the river. Large areas of wetlands and biodiversity in Yellow River Delta have also been restored over the years, returning life and vitality to the river.

By regulating water and sediment flow in a river owning the highest average annual sediment transporting volume and concentration in the world, YRCC has been able to significantly reduce the risk of devastating floods that the Yellow River was previously associated with protecting the 90 million people living in the flood-prone areas downstream of the river from loss of lives and damage to livelihoods and property.

Commenting on the achievements of YRCC, Mr Tan Gee Paw, Chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize Nominating Committee said: The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize celebrates the outstanding achievements of YRCC in integrated river basin management that is unrivalled in scale. In rejuvenating the Yellow River and managing floods, YRCC has brought about widespread and sustainable social, economic and environmental benefits to over one hundred million people.

We look forward to YRCC sharing its innovative, holistic and sustainable river basin management practices at the Water Week, and inspiring greater impetus in establishing sustainable water solutions for increasingly urbanised communities worldwide.

In recent years, YRCC has set up a brand new river management approach Maintaining the Healthy Life of the Yellow River , a systemic and holistic approach to the management, allocation and regulation of water supply. With 9 provinces and regions along the 5,464-kilometres long river, YRCC adopts a consultative approach to secure the support of the provincial governments and the people to equitably allocate water for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses, thus preventing abuse and over-exploitation of water resources. YRCC has also implemented an integrated operation of reservoirs along 3,000 kilometers of the river, to regulate river flow and boost storage capacity. Remote sensing and automation is employed to collect real-time river system information to monitor and control the reservoirs and dams. Through the coordinated operation of Xiaolangdi Project and other reservoirs, YRCC has carried out 9 flushing operations since 2002 to regulate the flow of water and sediments in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. This has deepened the riverbed by an average of 1.5 meters for some 900 kilometers downstream of the river and more than doubled the river's maximum flow capacity from 1,800 m³/s to 3,880 m³/s to substantially improve flood safety.

Instead of facing frequent zero-flow periods in the 1990s before integrated flow allocation and regulation practices were implemented, the Yellow River has been experiencing continuous flow throughout the year since 1999. YRCC also puts in place emergency response plans to manage, control and mitigate major water pollution incidents. The Commission works closely with environmental protection agencies and has implemented a public notification system to inform the public of any major water pollution incident.

"The work of Yellow River Conservancy Commission has resulted in a reversal of a disastrous trend of over-exploitation of the river by the riparian provinces which resulted in zero flow in the downstream portion and estuary for a number of years. Through the work of YRCC, and supported by demand management measures implemented by the provinces in consultation with YRCC, the river has flowed again throughout the year, during the past years. This constitutes a remarkable achievement with significant ecological and other benefits, said Wouter Lincklaen Arriens, Lead Professional (Water Resources Management) from the Regional and Sustainable Development Department of the Asian Development Bank.

The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, which was set up in 2008, is named after Singapore's first Prime Minister and present Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who through his foresight and leadership, has enabled Singapore to attain sustainable water supply.

Source:YRCC