Natural Heritage Institute

  • What’s New
  • Programs
    • Water Management Reform
      • The California Waterscape
        • Yellow Star Thistle
      • Prospective Projects
        • California Water Bond Act of 2018
      • Completed Projects (US & California)
    • Restoring Natural Functions in Developed River Basins
      • Mekong River Basin
        • Laos (Xe Kong)
        • Cambodia (Sambor)
        • Vietnam Delta
      • Prospective Projects
        • Chao Praya River
        • Yellow River
        • Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands (Nigeria)
      • Completed Projects (International)
  • Tools
    • Assessing Alternative Futures
    • Regulatory Interventions
    • Management Innovations
    • Advancing the State of Knowledge
  • Publications
  • About NHI
    • Mission and Vision
    • Board & Staff
    • Project Consultants & Affiliates
    • Partners, Collaborators, & Funders
    • NHI’s Past Programs

Home / Programs / Restoring Natural Functions in Developed River Basins / Mekong River Basin / Yellow River

Yellow River

Ten large dams on the mainstem of the Yellow River (plus over 3100 smaller reservoirs throughout the basin with a total storage capacity of over 58 billion m3) and a levee system confines the river for almost its entire length to the sea. These dams and diversions have dramatically reduced both water and sediment flows over the past 50 years, by about 5 fold measured at the mouth of the river, and seasonal peak flows have been almost entirely lost. Until recent years, the river frequently did not reach the sea. This situation has begun to change, due to the efforts of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, a government agency of Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, and NHI’s partner in this project. The objective of the partnership is to explore the potential for more substantially improving the downstream environment and the fisheries in the Bohai Sea by reoperating the final reservoir, Xiaolangdi, which controls the flows to the sea. This can be done through augmenting Xiaolangdi’s storage by utilizing groundwater aquifers within some of the 100 irrigation districts served by the dam.

Restoring Natural Functions in Developed River Basins

  • Mekong River Basin
    • Laos (Xe Kong)
    • Cambodia (Sambor)
    • Vietnam Delta
  • Prospective Programs:
    • Chao Praya River
    • Yellow River
    • Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands (Nigeria)
  • Completed Projects (International)

Project Documents

  • Yellow River Project Concept Paper, 2015
Contact Us
Email: gat(at)n-h-i.org
Phone: (415) 513-3362
© copyright 2018.

California Water

cal-water-widget

MEKONG RIVER BASIN

mekong-widget

Contact Us
gat(at)n-h-i.org
(415) 513-3362
website by duckdog design
Copyright © 2023