The Yellow River: a History of China’s Water Crisis

During the hot, dry month of August 1992 the farmers of Baishan village in Hebei province and Panyang village in Henan came to blows. Residents from each village hurled insults and rudimentary explosives at the other across the Zhang River – the river that feeds the Red Flag Canal Irrigation System and forms the border between the two provinces. 

Centuries of state investment in a massive system of dykes along the Yellow River has left China’s water planners with a difficult legacy today (Image by Teruhiro Kataoka)

The emotions of that afternoon were fuelled by events of the previous night when 70 Baishan villagers had waded into the river to build a barrage to divert water to their fields. Upon hearing of the treachery, Panyang villagers assembled to drive the dam-builders away.  

Two days later, Baishan villagers crossed the river to the Henan side and dynamited an irrigation canal that watered Panyang’s fields.    

Struggles over water are not new in China or around the world.  But these struggles have their own unique historical and cultural contexts. Climate, geography, and social forces all combined to escalate tensions over water resources on the North China Plain during the 1990s.   

In the early 1960s when the Red Flag Canal was constructed water was plentiful. The canal was a showpiece of Chinese hydraulic engineering that was begun during the Great Leap Forward, and celebrated as an exemplar of massive surface water irrigation development.  But after the 1980s, upstream withdrawals for irrigation and local industry dramatically expanded competition for water downstream.  

Full article can be read from here (中外对话): https://www.chinadialogue.net/culture/8134-The-Yellow-River-a-history-of-China-s-water-crisis/en.

Effect of Perennial Sediment Regulation in Xiaolangdi Reservoir on Reduction of Deposition in the Lower Yellow River

Article in International Journal of Sediment Research 12(2) · August 1997

Full text can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262935877_Effect_of_Perennial_Sediment_Regulation_in_Xiaolangdi_Reservoir_on_Reduction_of_Deposition_in_the_Lower_Yellow_River.

New Frontiers in Integrated Flood Simulation, Flood Mapping and Consequence Analysis

[Presentation at Air Worldwide San Franciso office on Apr 12, 2013]

The level of damage of flood events does not solely depend on exposure to flood waters. Vulnerabilities due to various socio-economic factors such as population at risk, public awareness, and the presence of early warning systems, etc. should also be taken into account. Federal and state agencies, watershed management coalitions, insurance companies, need reliable decision support system to evaluate flood risk, to plan and design flood damage assessment and mitigation systems. In current practice, flood damage evaluations are generally carried out based on results obtained from one-dimensional (1D) numerical simulations. In some cases, however, 1D simulation is not able to accurately capture the dynamics of the flood events. This presentation describes a decision support system, which is based on 2D flood simulation results. The 2D computational results are complemented with information from various resources, such as census block layer, detailed survey data, and remote sensing images, to estimate loss-of-life and direct damages (meso or micro scale) to property under uncertainty. Flood damage calculations consider damages to residential, commercial and industrial buildings in urban areas, and damages to crops in rural areas. The decision support system takes advantage of fast raster layer operations in a GIS platform to generate flood hazard maps based on various user-defined criteria. Monte Carlo method based on an event tree analysis is introduced to account for uncertainties in various parameters. Case studies illustrate the uses of the proposed decision support system. The results show that the proposed decision support system allows stakeholders to have a better appreciation of the consequences of the flood. It can also be used for planning, design and evaluation of future flood mitigation measures.

Louisiana Flood in August 2016 - Flood Footprints in Baton Rouge, LA

The largest flood loss driver of 2016 was the Louisiana flood in August 2016.  With NOAA estimating $10B in economic loss, the meteorological statistics from this event were nothing short of staggering.  Baton Rouge, LA registered 26.97” of rain in August, with over 20” falling in a 48 hour period; the monthly rainfall total broke the prior record of 23.73” in May 1907.  Moreover, 20” in a 48 hour period registered well in excess of a 1,000 (500?) year period recurrence interval for this region.  The impacts were widespread and historic, with river levels cresting at record heights, including the Amite River at Denham Springs cresting at 46.2’, over 5 feet higher than the prior record in April 1983.  

I analyzed this event due to the wide ranging impacts. Based on a 5 by 5 meter resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with lots of city level of details such as buildings and highways, JLT Re performed the 4-day rainfall-runoff simulations and obtained the flood footprint by using Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS), United States Army Corps of Engineers. As it can be seen from the exhibit below, not only does the resulting map show the inundation extents (blue), but it also illustrates the spatially varied flood depth (in feet), which is a key factor to determine the flood severity, as well as the exposure and vulnerability analysis. Many locations (yellow dots) shown as being inundated during this event, such as Louisiana State University (LSU) Campus, I-10/I-12 from LA 73 (Prairieville, LA)  to Siegen Lane, US 190 in Merrydale, etc, have all been verified with field photos taken by Civil Air Patrol. JLT Re also validated the result with FEMA hazard GIS layer (light red) published one month later after the event, and found out they are in very good agreement.

The Forming Conditions of Alluvial River Channel Patterns

[Abstract] In the normal fluvial process, the river channel is determined by river flows while the movement of river flow is contained by river channels. The relationship between the river morphology and its bend curvature shows that rivers with large bend curvatures always have narrow and deep channels and those with shallow and wide channels are always straight. The plan form of a river reaches is determined by the cross-sectional morphology. A meandering river reach may be developed under various water-sediment conditions as long as the narrow and deep channels are formed.

To read the full technical paper, please read at my researchgate websitie:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262911265_The_Forming_Conditions_of_Alluvial_River_Channel_Patterns.

Successful Reconstruction of 1993 Great Mississippi River Flood Footprint

The 1993 Midwest flood was one of the most significant and damaging natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Damages totaled $15 billion, 50 people died, hundreds of levees failed, and thousands of people were evacuated, some for months. The flood was unusual in the magnitude of the crests, the number of record crests, the large area impacted, and the length of the time the flood was an issue. The paper discusses some details of the flood, the forecasting procedures utilized by the National Weather Service and the precipitation events which caused the flood.

From May through September of 1993, major and/or record flooding occurred across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Fifty flood deaths occurred, and damages approached $15 billion. Hundreds of levees failed along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The magnitude and severity of this flood event was simply over-whelming, and it ranks as one of the greatest natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Approximately 600 river forecast points in the Midwestern United States were above flood stage at the same time. Nearly 150 major rivers and tributaries were affected. It was certainly the largest and most significant flood event ever to occur in the United States (Fig. 1).

A Depth Grid is GIS format data that represents the extent of riverine flooding or coastal storm surge inundation and the depth of water at a given location. Depth Grids are commonly delivered in raster ESRI GRID format, each pixel contains a value representing potential water depth. Factors that contribute to the resolution or level of detail displayed by a depth grid are twofold. These factors include resolution of your terrain data, and availability of flood surface elevation information.

Depth Grid accuracy is dependent on the resolution of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) or terrain data used during the processing of a Depth Grid. Secondly, the method used for collecting information on the elevation of your flood surface may vary. Common methods for generating flood surface information are: the use of High Water Mark (HWM) data, the use of BFE (Base Flood Elevation) cross sections, or local H&H (Hydrology and Hydraulics) models. Determining the resolution requirements for a Depth Grid is reliant on the type of analyses that will be conducted with the processed Depth Grid. For example, when site specific (structure by structure) analyses are needed for loss estimation, higher resolution elevation datasets are more appropriate, whereas if to gain a general idea of flood extent is the intent, a lower resolution elevation dataset would be adequate.

Efficient Sediment Transport Theory of the Hyperconcentrated Flow in the Lower Yellow River

To read full paper, please visit my researchgate webisite at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262911185_Efficient_Sediment_Transport_Theory_of_the_Hyperconcentrated_Flow_in_the_Lower_Yellow_River.,

Yellow River Facts — Mother Monster Tamed

The Yellow River overflows with shocking facts. China's "Mother River" gave a home to early civilization, then regularly devastated it with deadly floods and course shifts. China's recent infrastructure boom has fully harnessed the Yellow River for hydroelectricity, reservoirs, irrigation, etc., turning the "monster" into a natural resource.

Sixth Longest River - Huge Torrent to Muddy Trickle

The First Bend of the Yellow River on the Sichuan-Gansu border

The Yellow River, is the second longest river in China after the Yangtze, and the sixth longest in the world, but less than the 100th for discharge. It dominates dry northern China. Unlike other rivers, it seems to decrease in flow as it goes.

Length: 5,464 km (3,398 mi)

Source: the Bayankala Mountains, Qinghai Province, western central China

Mouth: the Bo Sea at Shandong Province, a gulf on the East China Sea

Read more on Yellow River Geography.

Cradle of Chinese Civilization

Chinese people say the Yellow River is "the Mother River of China" and "the Cradle of Chinese Civilization". Historical evidence shows that the lower Yellow River basin was where Chinese civilization began, and the most prosperous region in early Chinese history.

Peking Man statue at Zhoukoudian Anthropological Museum in Beijing

Prehistoric Chinese lived just north of the Yellow River Basin at Zhoukoudian, south of Beijing, and around Sanmenxia on the Yellow River, midway between Xi'an and Zhengzhou. It was around Zhengzhou that the earliest Chinese dynasties were based: the Xia (2100–1600 BC, capital Luoyang) and Shang (1600–1046 BC, capital Anyang) dynasties. Xi'an, on the Wei tributary of the Yellow River, was a prominent Chinese capital in several dynasties from the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) to the Tang Dynasty (618–907). The Yellow River Basin was the center of Chinese politics, economy, culture, and innovation for about 3,000 years.

The Muddiest Major River on Earth

• Chinese name: 黄河 Huánghé /hwung-her/ ‘Yellow River' 
• Alternative Chinese name: 浊河 Zhuóhé /jwor-her/ 'Muddy River'

The Yellow River got its name because of the ochre-yellow color of the muddy water in the lower reaches of the river. Each year, the river carries 1.6 billion tons of fine sediment (loess) when its middle reaches flows through China's Loess Plateau region. It carries more sediment per cubic meter than any other major river in the world, and deposits most of it long before it reaches the delta.

The World's Largest "Yellow" Waterfall — Hukou Waterfall

Hukou Waterfall — the most sedimented major waterfall in the world

Hukou Waterfall, in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, is the largest "yellow" waterfall in the world, and the second largest waterfall in China after Huangguoshu Waterfall. The waterfall is named Hukou (壶口 /hoo-co/ ‘Kettle Mouth’) because the riverbed there has eroded into a spout like an enormous teapot, from which the rushing "yellow" water pours out. When the mighty Yellow River flows through the gorge at Hukou, it abruptly narrows, turning the water into rapids, ending in thundering chocolaty billows. The magnificent waterfall is 15 meters (50 feet) high and 30 to 50 meters (100–160 feet) wide, depending on the season. The marvelous scene of Hukou Waterfall attracts numerous tourists every year. Learn more about Hukou Waterfall.

Ships Sail on a Raised River — 10m Above the Ground!

Usually, a river is the lowest point around — not so with the Yellow River! Due to sediment accumulation, and successive levees built to contain the raised flow, the riverbed is up to 10 meters (33 feet) above the surrounding cities and farmlands in most of its lower reaches. So it is also called "the Hanging River" or "Above Ground River". The Yellow River is the only river where ships sail overhead!

"China's Sorrow" Has Killed Millions by Flooding

Because of the continual rise of the riverbed caused by the accumulated silt, the river tends to overflow its banks, and sometimes leave its banks far behind (see below). Surrounding areas were extremely prone to flooding and river course change. The Yellow River has long been known as "China's Sorrow." It was the most destructive and dangerous river in the world, until damming and massive abstraction has reduced it to a carefully controlled trickle. Between 602 B.C. and 1946, it has flooded 1,593 times, each time killing thousands by drowning, disease, starvation, and loss of livelihood. The 1931 Yellow River Flood was the most devastating natural disaster ever recorded, killing 1–4 million (apart from famines and plagues).

Over 20 Major Moves — from Tianjin to Shanghai

3,000 years ago the Yellow River emptied into the Bo Sea near Tianjin and Beijing, 200 km north of where it does now. But in the last 1,000 years (and as recently as 1947) it has emptied into a tributary of the Yangtze, flowing out at Shanghai — 600 km south of its current delta. It has changed its course dramatically an average of about once every 100 years, causing huge devastation.

Reduced to Nothing Annually Since 1972

Due to decrease in rainfall in the Yellow River catchment, and increased demands for irrigation, etc., the lower reaches of the Yellow River dried up completely for the first time in 1972, and since then have dried up almost annually. When it dries up, over 140 million people and about 74,000 km² (46,000 mi2) of farmland are affected. In 1996, the dry period persisted for 136 days, and 226 days in 1997.

Billions Spent on Flood Control

Strengthening and building higher embankments (and dredging) protect the surrounding areas from the rising river. Building large-scale water conservation projects, including Sanmenxia Reservoir and Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam to control flow and sediment deposition downstream, captures excess water when needed. Planting trees in the watershed reduces erosion and resulting sedimentation, and runoff rates. Damming tributaries of the Yellow River also slows the river's flow.

Hazard Mitigation Related to Water and Sediment Fluxes in The Yellow River Basin, China, Based on Comparable Basins of the United States

United States Geological Survey (USGS) 

W. R. Osterkamp¹ and J. R. Gray²

1.Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Tucson, Arizona, 

2. Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

ABSTRACT: The Yellow River, north-central China, and comparative rivers of the western United States, the Rio Grande and the Colorado River, derive much of their flows from melting snow at high elevations, but derive most of their sediment loads from semiarid central parts of the basins. The three rivers are regulated by large reservoirs that store water and sediment, causing downstream channel scour and, farther downstream, flood hazard owing to re-deposition of sediment. Potential approaches to reducing continuing bed aggradation and increasing flood hazard along the lower Yellow River include flow augmentation, retirement of irrigation that decreases flows and increases erosion, and re-routing of the middle Yellow River to bypass large sediment inputs of the Loess Plateau. 

Proposals to modify or induce flooding in the lower Yellow River date from at least the 1960s (Qi, 1997). The general concept of controlled flows to rehabilitate river lowlands, such as controlled releases to the Colorado River from Lake Powell (fig. 2), can be an effective management tool for any large river (Marzolf and others, 1999). A benefit of approach 5 is that releases from Liujiaxia Hydropower Station can be based on Yellow River flow, consumptive needs in the middle basin, and the need to reduce bed elevation along the lower reach of the river. During periods of low runoff, for example, most flow would discharge from Liujiaxia Hydropower Station into the Yellow River, whereas during times of higher flow, and especially during flood, much of the flow would be diverted through the Tao He into the Wei He to maximize scour in the lower reach of the Yellow River. Use of adaptive management, therefore, could not only continue to provide adequate flow to the middle Yellow River, but also could reverse bed aggradation in the lower reach.

The net long-term advantages for the well-being of the people and agricultural production of the Yellow River Basin may be greatest if approach 5 is considered. This approach seems most likely to offer lasting protection for life and resources of the lower basin while minimizing adverse effects of the upper and middle basin. Importation of water from the Yangtze River has the same advantage of flushing stored sediment from the lower Yellow River Valley, but may include negative features, such as future economic (political) imbalances of water distribution and disruption of regional ecological systems.   

Citation of My Publication:  Qi, Pu, 1997, Effect of perennial sediment regulation in Xaiolangdi Reservoir on reduction of the deposition in the lower Yellow River, International Journal of Sediment Research, v. 12, no. 2, p. 58-67.

Full Paper can be downloaded at:

http://water.usgs.gov/osw/techniques/hazard-mitigation.doc.

International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation in Beijing (IRTCES)

Sedimentation problems are a matter of global concern. According to a preliminary statistics, the annual erosion of surface soil from global river basins amounts to 60 billion tons; as much as 5 to 7 million ha of farmland are annually ruined and about 1% of the precious storage capacity of the world's reservoirs is annually lost to deposition, which causes aggravation of flood and drought disasters and deterioration of ecology and environment. Therefore, there was an urgent need to establish an international center to strengthen the research and training activities and technical co-operation among the member states of UNESCO in the field of erosion and sedimentation. UNESCO certified the feasibility of establishing a center in 1981, and concluded that it was suitable to establish it in China.

The International Sediment Initiative is expected to add a new dimension to ongoing efforts aiming at sustainable sediment management, in the context of sustainable water resources development at global scale. Hence, its mission directly relates to the commitments of the international community expressed in major documents such as the Millennium Development Goals, the Rio Declaration of Sustainable Development, the World Water Assessment Programme, World Water Development Reports, etc. By its activity, the International Sediment Initiative aims to uphold the importance of sustainable sediment management within the context of the two United Nations decades which have set-up in 2005: the 'Water for Life Decade' and the 'Decade for Education for Sustainable Development'. With direct access to stakeholders represented in the IHP National Committees and the Intergovernmental Council, ISI should be viewed as a vehicle to advance sediment management at the global scale.

International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation in Beijing (IRTCES) website: http://www.irtces.org/irtces/index.htm.

UNESCO International Sediment Initiative: Case Study on the Yellow River Sedimentation, 
http://www.irtces.org/isi/isi_document/CaseStudy_Yellow_River_IRTCES1.pdf.

Fireworks on Hudson River for Chinese New Year 2016

NEW YORK (CBS New York) — New York City will be celebrating the Lunar New Year with a five-day festival in early February.

“The Year of the Monkey Celebration” runs from Feb. 6 through Feb. 10. The festival, presented by the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, is hosting a myriad of events, including the “The Fantastic Art China” exhibition at the Javits Center, where traditional and contemporary Chinese artworks will be showcased. Environmental conservation efforts for monkeys in China also will be highlighted. 

A Hudson River fireworks display set to the music of Oscar and Grammy Award winner Tan Dun is scheduled for Feb. 6.The Empire State Building is also planning a light display for Feb. 6 and Feb. 8. And the New York Philharmonic’s 5th Annual Chinese New Year Concert will be held at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9.

Summary of My Major Contributions at WSP/PB in 2015

Per the request from project manager, I summarized my major accomplishments for the company in 2015:

• NJ Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges (NJ DOT): Worked on scour study with FHWA’s 2D hydrodynamic model FESWMS, updated model with latest bathymetry elevations and ran for 100-year and 500-year hurricanes for three trestle bridges. Wrote the hydraulic report and submitted to FHWA, addressed the comments, and FHWA accepted the comment response and the revised report.
• I-287/78 Interchange Improvement Project (NJ DOT): Worked on hydrologic and hydraulic analysis at three different locations within this project, evaluated the impact of constructing new ramps/extending the existing culvert, wrote Flood Hazard Area (FHA) Engineer’s Report and submitted to NJDEP, addressed comments and finally got FHA permit from NJDEP early this year.
• Sawmill Road and Lincoln Avenue Culvert Replacement Projects (Middlesex County, NJ): As a sub-consultant to Naik, worked on hydrologic and hydraulic impact study, wrote engineer’s report and address NJDEP’s comments, got FHA permits last year and early this year from NJDEP for both projects.
• Route 1 SB Nassau Park Blvd to Quaker Bridge Mall Overpass Project (NJ DOT):  Worked on FHA analysis at Route 1 Nassau Park, evaluated the hydraulic impact of resurfacing roadway, wrote FHA Report and submitted to NJDOT and got approval, Now it is with NJDEP for review.
• NJ Route 42 Ardmore Road Restoration Project (NJ DOT): Worked on drainage and stormwater management of this project, designed three BMPs for water quality, water quantities and groundwater recharge requirements, wrote full drainage and SWM report and submitted to NJDOT for review.
• NJ Route 72 East Road Improvement Project (NJ DOT): Worked on FHA analysis this project at two locations, developed FHA mapping, wrote full FHA report and submitted to NJDOT for review.
• Schalks Crossing Road (C.R. 683) Bridge Improvement Project (NJ DOT): Worked on hydraulic study of this project, developed FHA analysis model from the paper based State studied HEC-2 model, attended several project meetings with NJDOT and answered their questions.
• Amwell Road Drainage Improvement Project (Somerset County, NJ): Worked on drainage design and stormwater management analysis, created plans with supporting engineer’s report, addressed County’s comments and revised report/plan.
• BMP Retrofit Analysis, Charles County, MD (MD SHA): Helped Baltimore office to design various BMP facilities for water quality management, developed various riser analysis spreadsheet for them to use, as well as creating GIS mapping, etc.
• NEC Initiative Climate Change Study, Maine DOT (FHWA): Helped Baltimore office to for flood damage analysis under NOAA’s sea level rise scenario, developed customized VBA program within EXCEL to automate the computation procedures with user input interface.
• Pensacola Bay Bridge Project (FL DOT): Help Tampa office to gather data, reviewed previous study report and helped on proposal/resume writing.
• Blind Brook Study and Flood Mitigation Project (City of Rye, NY): Attended several project meetings with City of Rye engineers, SUNY-Purchase and New York Rising committee to discuss the future path of the project. Participated in the 39^th ASFPM national congress in Atlanta, GA and presented a paper entitled “Optimal Sluice Gate Operations for Flood Mitigation Study of City of Rye, New York” at Concurrent Section F7. According the conference chair, for all the submitted paper, the final acceptance rate is only 40%.