At the Water's Edge

If the water levels drop any lower in the Three Gorges Dam, the power be will shut off. But this year's scorching, record-breaking drought across six provinces in Southern China means that the Yangtze River is in desperate need of an answer the Three Gorges could have stored in its reserves.

On May 18, an executive meeting by the State Council, China's cabinet, attempted to address a more unified response to water management problems in the region. The meeting resulted in the "Follow-Up Work on the Three Gorges Dam" framework, in which the tie between the drought and the expansion of hydropower were discussed. Aside from drawing relocation and resettlement plans leftover from the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the meeting also put out new objectives in its operations management system.