News related to Sanmenxia water control project

Huang Wanli denied the plan of Soviet experts to build dams to control rivers.

200 1, the 90th anniversary of the founding of Tsinghua University. Born in 19 1 1, Huang Wanli, a professor of water conservancy, happened to be in the same year as Tsinghua. On August 20th, teachers and students in the department held a birthday party for him who was seriously ill. It's only seven days since his birthday. Professor Huang, 90, came to the end of his life and died suddenly after fighting cancer for 17 years. If his life is a long book with ups and downs, the theme that runs through it must be river management, and the most important chapter is Sanmenxia, which is an important turning point in his life.

Sanmenxia river bed is narrow and fast-flowing, which has always been regarded as a dangerous road by boatmen in past dynasties. In the 20th century, it just became a favorable condition for flood control and dam construction. The narrow riverbed is convenient for river closure and rapid water flow, which is beneficial to power generation after dam construction. The solid granite under the river bed and the rock island structure of man gate, Shen gate and ghost gate have become the best foundation for river regulation and dam construction. After a large-scale investigation by a Yellow River investigation team of 120 people, Korolev, the leader of Soviet experts, said: "Sanmenxia is a rare and good dam site, and no other dam site can comprehensively solve the problems of flood control, irrigation and power generation like Sanmenxia." At that time, this "big brother motto" had a decisive influence on the decision-making of Sanmenxia project. So, in the summer of the same year, the National People's Congress held its second meeting, and all NPC deputies voted unanimously by raising their hands.

1April, 957, the Sanmenxia dam project of the Yellow River started. In June, the Ministry of Water Resources convened 70 scholars and engineers to meet in Beijing Hotel to discuss the plan of Soviet experts. In the almost unanimous praise, a weak but firm dissonance suddenly appeared, coming from two scholars-Huang Wanli, a professor in the prime of Tsinghua, and Wen, a young technician who just graduated from school.

Huang Wanli rudely denied the plan of the Soviet experts. He believes that the construction of a high dam to stop the river in Sanmenxia and the sediment deposition in the upper reaches of the reservoir will increase the water level in the upper reaches of the Yellow River year by year and move the disaster of the Yellow River in Henan to the upper reaches of Shaanxi. According to the scientific principle that rivers must carry some sediment, "Huang Heqing" is just a romantic and unrealistic fantasy. At the same time, the 335-meter "low dam" scheme puts forward that Sanmenxia reservoir should be dominated by "flood detention and sediment discharge" and play a comprehensive benefit after flood season. The bottom hole of the dam should be reduced and enlarged as much as possible, and the sediment should be discharged from the warehouse, with less flood discharge and less migration.

The Yellow River is a muddy river, which is different from that of the former Soviet Union. Their experts have no experience in controlling sedimentary rivers. As Konchalov, president of the former Soviet Institute of Water Conservancy and a famous sediment expert, said, "Kololov knows nothing about rivers. It is impossible to understand rivers only from the perspective of engineering, which simplifies complex problems." Accordingly, in that era when people believed that man could conquer nature, some of our experts enthusiastically put forward a plan to ensure sediment reduction in the upper reaches by means of "soil and water conservation" to solve sediment deposition. They gave an exciting data: by 1967, the amount of incoming sediment can be reduced to 50%, and after 50 years of operation, it can be reduced to 100%.

1958, with the efforts of Huang Wanli and Premier Zhou, the Sanmenxia design plan made concessions to lower the water level-the dam was designed to be 360m, constructed to be 350m, and the water storage was controlled to be 340m; The elevation of the bottom of the dam drainage hole is reduced from 320 meters to 300 meters-these two points are directly related to the inundation and migration of population and how much sediment can be washed out.

During the period of 1960, the Sanmenxia project was reported frequently, the dam was basically completed, and water storage began in September. After that, the disasters predicted by Huang Wanli began to come true one by one. 1 many years, the sediment deposition in the reservoir area became a disaster, the Tongguan river bed rose by 4.5 meters, and the sediment deposition extended upstream. The "cocking tail" has directly threatened Xi 'an, the economic center of northwest China, the groundwater level in Guanzhong Plain has risen, and the land of "800 Li Qinchuan" has become salinized and swamped.

1962 the Ministry of water and electricity held a meeting in Zhengzhou, which was approved by the State Council on March 20th. The operation of the reservoir began to shift from "water storage and sediment retention" to "flood detention and sediment discharge". During the flood season, the reservoir should be emptied as much as possible, and power generation and irrigation should not be considered for the time being, only the task of preventing catastrophic floods should be reserved. Since then, the sedimentation in the reservoir area has slowed down, but due to the blockage of the diversion bottom hole of the reservoir, the sedimentation phenomenon in the reservoir area is still developing.

1964, after the debate on whether and how to rebuild the Sanmenxia Dam, Premier Zhou said in his summary report: "The key problem at present is the sediment problem ... If it is not rebuilt, the reservoir will be flooded after five years, which will undoubtedly have a great impact on the Guanzhong Plain. We can't just stare at the downstream and don't look at the middle reaches, let alone drown the Guanzhong in order to save the downstream. " He put forward two guarantees, namely, ensuring downstream and Xi 'an. Therefore, the Sanmenxia Dam was rebuilt for the first time, and two tunnels were dug on both sides of the Yellow River, and four pipes were laid to drain and discharge sand, that is, the "two holes and four pipes" scheme.

Five years later, 1969, the dam was rebuilt for the second time, and all eight drainage holes at the original dam bottom were blasted. These drainage holes, which Huang Wanli 12 years ago insisted on "Don't block, it will release water and sand to slow down siltation", were still blocked with concrete according to the design of the Soviet Union. At this time, in order to reopen them one by one, the price paid is RMB100000 yuan per hole.

Huang Wanli published Hua Xiao Hua untimely at 1957 because he openly opposed the Sanmenxia project, and naturally became a rightist. And this rightist hat has been worn for 23 years.

197 1 autumn, Poyang lake Tsinghua University farm was closed due to schistosomiasis. Professor Huang Wanli, who still wears the "right crown", was arranged to continue the reconstruction of Sanmenxia dam project, where he spent six years-"attending a' learning class' in the morning, bowing his head to listen to the approval, sweeping the floor in the afternoon, and thinking about the Yellow River by himself at night." It was under the dim oil lamp in the shed that he completed many important scientific papers, such as "The Strategy of Treating Yellow River".

1978 Huang Wanli, one of the three rightists in Tsinghua, was the last one in the school to take off the rightist hat. At this time, he is nearly old. He didn't ask for anything, just wanted to get into work as soon as possible: teaching and writing. In 1980s, he broke out with amazing energy, and completed a series of high-level papers which had a wide influence at home and abroad. 1989, 78-year-old Huang Wanli was invited to give a lecture tour in American 12 university. 1998 After the Yangtze River flood, he was finally allowed to teach graduate students at the age of 87. At this time, he has been suffering from cancer for many years and has undergone four operations, but he still cherishes this hard-won right to teach. He put on a white suit and tied a red bow tie and solemnly walked into the classroom.

Sanmenxia cannot "rule the world with one storehouse"

After many reconstructions, the problem of sediment deposition in Sanmenxia Reservoir has been greatly alleviated. However, the flood and sediment of the Yellow River have not been completely controlled, and flood control in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is still a long-term and arduous task. With the siltation in the lower reaches of the Yellow River increasing year by year, the flood discharge capacity is decreasing year by year. Sanmenxia Reservoir, which has been responsible for flood control and siltation reduction for many years, is gradually filling up, which can no longer meet the needs of preventing catastrophic floods. In order to continue to ensure the safety of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the policy of "blocking the upper reaches and discharging the lower reaches, and separating the two banks" was promulgated, that is, the main and tributary projects were built below Sanmenxia to intercept and store the flood, improve the flood diversion capacity, increase the downstream discharge flow and discharge the flood into the sea.

On September 1994, the main project of Xiaolangdi started.

The goal of Xiaolangdi is to ensure the safety of the vast areas on both sides of the lower reaches in the next twenty or thirty years. As the reservoir project draws to a close, whether Sanmenxia dam should discharge flood has caused a new round of debate.

One theory is that after the completion of Xiaolangdi Reservoir, its main task should be to solve the problem of flood control and siltation reduction in the downstream, instead of Sanmenxia Reservoir undertaking flood control, ice prevention, spring irrigation and other tasks, and Sanmenxia Reservoir only cooperates with flood detention scheduling in case of catastrophic flood. Shaanxi province, suffering from siltation, hopes to "liberate" Sanmenxia, reclaim land for sand control and completely solve the long-standing problem of siltation in Guanzhong Plain.

However, different opinions are also very strong. The reason is that it is impossible to rely on Xiaolangdi's "one library to set the world"! After Xiaolangdi Reservoir is put into operation, the downstream safety can only be ensured by implementing "four reservoirs joint dispatching" with Sanmenxia Reservoir, Luhun Reservoir and Guxian Reservoir and working together. Without Sanmenxia, a powerful barrier, the design goal of Xiaolangdi will be difficult to achieve, and the whole flood control system downstream will be completely disrupted. And if Sanmenxia gate is opened, according to the water and sediment conditions of the Yellow River, Xiaolangdi can be silted up in 5 to 8 years!

Who dares to gamble easily with the "liberation" of Sanmenxia and the unpredictable Yellow River? Therefore, the cause of harnessing the Yellow River is far from over, and there will still be generations of people making unremitting efforts for the An Lan of the Yellow River.

The opponent made great contributions.

Due to the Sanmenxia Dam, the Yellow River forms a beautiful lake with an area of about 200 square kilometers when the reservoir area is filled from June to June every year. From Sanmenxia Dam to Dayudu, Ruicheng, Shanxi, 100 km, the blue waves are endless. Every year from June to June, 10, the dam releases water and the Yellow River restores its original appearance. This is a unique application mode since June 1973-"storing clear water and discharging mud". That is, flood discharge and sediment discharge in flood season and water storage in non-flood season make "water and sediment imbalance" become "water and sediment adaptation". After continuous exploration and application, "storing clear water and discharging mud" has achieved great success, and Sanmenxia has finally brought into play huge comprehensive benefits such as flood control, ice prevention, irrigation, water supply, power generation, siltation reduction and ecology.

The exploration and practice of Sanmenxia Dam in controlling sediment deposition has undoubtedly provided valuable experience and lessons for the control of sandy rivers at home and abroad. Nowadays, the method of "storing clear water and discharging mud" has been successfully used for reference by water conservancy projects such as Xiaolangdi of the Yellow River, Wanjiazhai and Gezhouba of the Yangtze River. The problem of sediment deposition in the Three Gorges Project of the Yangtze River has become the focus of the world's attention, and finally it is decided to adopt the "Sanmenxia Way". That is, when there is more sediment in flood season, the water level is lowered to "discharge mud" to reduce siltation; After the flood season, that is, from June 10 to May of the following year, when the sediment decreases, it will be "stored" to generate electricity and facilitate shipping.

Over the years, a large number of students went to Sanmenxia for internship, a large number of domestic and foreign experts and scholars visited Sanmenxia, and the relevant departments of the Three Gorges Project also went to Sanmenxia to learn from the scriptures. Sanmenxia project of the Yellow River has become a major school of harnessing and developing sandy rivers at home and abroad. To sum it up in one sentence-China in the world sediment research, China Yellow River sediment research and Yellow River Sanmenxia Reservoir project sediment research.

In addition, Sanmenxia left some spiritual values to future generations: 1955, when the National People's Congress passed the Sanmenxia project, no one objected and no one abstained, and it was unanimously passed with warm applause; By1April 1992, the Three Gorges Project was about to start, and 2,633 deputies to the National People's Congress voted for 1767, against 177, with 664 abstentions, and 25 people failed to pass the government proposal by voting.

In this regard, Pan, a well-known hydropower expert in China, deputy head of the leading group of experts for planning and demonstration of the Three Gorges Project, and head of the acceptance expert group for the second phase of the Three Gorges Project, said: "I am opposed to unanimous approval, which is unreliable ... If I don't know enough about the project, I can't be sure whether I agree or disagree. Abstaining from voting is only a responsible performance ... and it is normal and necessary to have a certain negative vote. We can analyze it from these negative votes.

"It is the opponents who make the greatest contribution"-indeed, only by hearing the voices of opposition can we find more problems and solve more problems by questioning the unfavorable factors. And those scholars who can stick to their own views are not only responsible for academics, but also for the people and the country.